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Arriva plc is a British multinational
public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
company headquartered in
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
, England.Companies House extract company no 347103
It was established in 1938 as T Cowie Ltd. and through a number of mergers and acquisitions was rebranded Arriva in 1997 and became a subsidiary of
Deutsche Bahn The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder. describes itself as the se ...
in 2010. Arriva operates bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus services in 14 countries across Europe. As of September 2018, it employed 61,845 people and operated 2.4 billion passenger journeys annually. It operates as three divisions: UK Bus, UK Rail and Mainland Europe. Deutsche Bahn announced in 2019 they wished to sell Arriva, but the sale was placed on hold as of November in that year.


History

The company was founded by T. S. K. Cowie in
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
in 1938 as a second-hand motorcycle dealer trading as T. Cowie Limited.History and growth
Arriva
In 1948 the business was re-launched by
Tom Cowie Sir Thomas Cowie (9 September 1922 – 18 January 2012) was an English businessman who was the honorary Life President of the Arriva Group, formerly known as Cowie Group plc. Career Cowie Group Cowie's father, Thomas Stephenson Knowles Cowie ...
, the founder's son, still selling motorcycles.Background
Sir Tom Cowie
T Cowie plc was floated in December 1964, and in 1965 it bought out the first of many car dealerships. In 1972, it formed Cowie Contract Hire, which became the largest contract hire business in the UK. In 1980 T. Cowie made its first foray into bus operations, buying the
Grey-Green Grey-Green was a bus and coach operator in England. It was based in Stamford Hill and operated in London and the East of England. History Grey-Green can trace its origins back over a century to the foundation of George Ewer's horse carriage b ...
operation in London from the George Ewer Group."How Arriva arrived in the Capital"
''Focus Transport'' February 2012
In 1984, T. Cowie p.l.c. acquired the Hanger Group, which included Interleasing, a large vehicle leasing business.History
Masterlease
Further leasing companies acquired were Marley Leasing, RoyScot Drive and Ringway Leasing. Following the retirement of Tom Cowie, the company was renamed Cowie Group plc in April 1994. As part of the
privatisation of London bus services The privatisation of London bus services was the process of the transfer of operation of buses in London from public bodies to private companies. For half a century, operation of London bus services for public transport was under the direct co ...
, Cowie Group acquired the Leaside Buses and South London Transport business units in September 1994 and January 1995. Cowie p.l.c. bought
United Automobile Services United Automobile Services was a bus company, which operated local and regional bus services in County Durham, Cumbria, Northumberland, North Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear, England. It provided bus services across a wide geographical area, stret ...
and
British Bus British Bus was a bus group in the United Kingdom. It was sold to the Cowie Group in August 1996. History British Bus was founded in November 1992 when the Drawlane Transport Group split its bus interests from its National Express in the lead u ...
in July and August 1996, both of which had acquired a number of privatised bus companies. As a result of these transactions, in October 1996 Cowie Group was reclassified on the stock exchange from a motor dealer to a transport group. In November 1997, the company was rebranded as Arriva p.lc. In that year it also bought Unibus in Denmark, its first venture outside the United Kingdom. In June 1999, Arriva sold its vehicle-hire business to
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
. In February 2000 Arriva purchased MTL Holdings, which included its first UK rail franchises, Merseyrail Electrics and Northern Spirit. In 2002/03 Arriva sold its motor-retailing businesses and in February 2006 it sold its vehicle-rental business to Northgate. In April 2008 the
LNWR The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lond ...
train maintenance business in England was acquired. In 2010, it was reported that the government-owned railway companies of France (
SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...
) and Germany (
Deutsche Bahn The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder. describes itself as the se ...
) were considering making takeover bids for the business. SNCF subsidiary
Keolis Keolis is a multinational transportation company that operates public transport systems. The company manages bus, rapid transit, tram, coach networks, rental bikes, car parks, water taxi, cable car, trolleybus and funicular services. Based ...
and Arriva entered discussions regarding a merger, but in April 2010 Deutsche Bahn made a takeover offer for Arriva at £7.75 a share (£1.585 billion). The takeover was approved by the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
in August 2010, conditional on Deutsche Bahn disposing of some Arriva services in Germany.DB/Arriva
European Commission 11 August 2010
The takeover took effect on 27 August 2010, and Arriva was delisted from the
London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...
on 31 August 2010. In late 2011, Arriva acquired Grand Central"Arriva in Grand Central Railway takeover"
. ''BBC News''. 4 November 2011.
and sold its
Arriva Scotland West Arriva Scotland West was a bus company based in Inchinnan, near Paisley, Scotland. It was formed in 1997 as a rebranding of the former Clydeside 2000 company when purchased by Arriva. On 26 March 2012, the business was sold to McGill's Bus Ser ...
bus operation."Arriva exits Scotland with Sale to McGill's"
''Bus & Coach Professional'' 14 December 2011
In May 2013 Arriva purchased
Veolia Transport Veolia Transport (formerly Connex and CGEA Transport) was the international transport services division of the French-based multinational company Veolia until the 2011 merger that gave rise to Veolia Transdev. Veolia Transport traded under the ...
's Central European business with 3,400 vehicles."DB acquires Central European business operations from Veolia"
. Deutsche Bahn. 16 May 2013.
"Arriva takes Veolia business"
''Bus & Coach Professional'' 20 May 2013
"Arriva takes the lead in central and east Europe"
. ''Passenger transport''. 22 May 2013.
Arriva changed its logo in January 2018. In March 2019, DB announced that it would be selling Arriva through either a sale or possible public flotation and invited companies interested in acquiring it to register expressions of interest by 3 May, but by mid-November the sale was placed on hold.


Current operations


Croatia


Bus

In May 2013, Arriva entered the Croatian bus market with the purchase of Panturist Veolia Osijek (
Veolia Transport Veolia Transport (formerly Connex and CGEA Transport) was the international transport services division of the French-based multinational company Veolia until the 2011 merger that gave rise to Veolia Transdev. Veolia Transport traded under the ...
Central Europe) with 120 buses. In August 2017 Arriva took a 78.34% share in Autotrans Group (ATG), thus becoming the number one private bus operator in Croatia


Czech Republic

Arriva group bought three medium-sized bus transport companies (Transcentrum Bus s.r.o., Bosák Bus s.r.o. and Osnado s.r.o.) in 2006 and 2007 end established its own rail transport company Arriva vlaky s.r.o. in 2009. These four companies are owned through Arriva holding Česká republika s.r.o. which is owned by the Dutch company Arriva Coöperatie W.A. (majority of 99.9% since 2008). In July 2013, the current Veolia Transport Česká republika a.s. with its four subsidiary companies fell under Arriva group as Arriva Transport Česká republika a.s. The daughter companies were simultaneously renamed and rebranded as Arriva Praha s.r.o., Arriva Teplice s.r.o., Arriva Vychodni Cechy a.s. and Arriva Morava a.s. They operate primarily buses (it is the biggest bus transport operator in the Czech Republic) but also trolleybuses in Teplice (Arriva Teplice) and Desná Railway (Arriva Morava). The two Arriva holdings in the Czech Republic have not any direct interconnection yet. Moreover, the Arriva group operated in the Czech Republic also through the German rail transport company Vogtlandbahn GmbH. Former Abellio's companies Probo Bus and PT Real, purchased in December 2013, are owned by DB Czech Holding s.r.o. which is owned by German DB Mobility Logistics AG.


Bus and coach

In December 2006, Arriva purchased Transcentrum Bus, operating services in
Mladá Boleslav District Mladá Boleslav District ( cs, okres Mladá Boleslav) is a district (''okres'') within Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the city of Mladá Boleslav. Complete list of municipalities Bakov nad Jizerou - Bělá pod Bezdě ...
of the
Central Bohemian Region The Central Bohemian Region ( cz, Středočeský kraj, german: Mittelböhmische Region) is an administrative unit ( cz, kraj) of the Czech Republic, located in the central part of its historical region of Bohemia. Its administrative centre is in ...
, north east of
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
. In January 2007 Arriva acquired Bosák Bus, which operates to the south west of
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
and the
Příbram District Příbram District ( cs, okres Příbram) is a district ('' okres'') within the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. Its capital is the town of Příbram and the towns of Dobříš and Sedlčany are larger centres. List of municipalities ...
of the Central Bohemian Region. In November 2007 Arriva acquired Osnado, which operates bus and coach services in the north of
Hradec Králové Region Hradec Králové Region ( cs, Královéhradecký kraj, ; pl, Kraj hradecki) is an administrative unit ( cs, kraj) of the Czech Republic located in the north-eastern part of the historical region of Bohemia. It is named after its capital Hradec K ...
in East Bohemia, in the foothills of
Krkonoše The Giant Mountains, Krkonoše or Karkonosze (Czech: , Polish: , german: Riesengebirge) are a mountain range located in the north of the Czech Republic and the south-west of Poland, part of the Sudetes mountain system (part of the Bohemian Massi ...
mountains. The three bus companies retain their original names but with the Arriva corporate logo and livery. At the turn of 2014/2015, Bosák Bus s.r.o. was merged with Transcentrum Bus s.r.o. and Transcentrum Bus s.r.o. renamed to Arriva Střední Čechy s.r.o. In July 2013, eolia TransportČeská republika a.s. was purchased with its four subsidiary companies which were renamed Arriva Morava, Arriva Praha, Arriva Teplice and Arriva Východní Čechy. These four companies are owned by holding company Arriva Transport Česká republika. It also operates trolleybuses in
Teplice Teplice () (until 1948 Teplice-Šanov; german: Teplitz-Schönau or ''Teplitz'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is the second largest Czech spa town, after Karlovy Vary. The his ...
(Arriva Teplice) and trains in Desná Railway (Arriva Morava). In December 2013, Abellio's Probo Bus and PT Real operations were purchased with 110 buses. As at November 2016, Arriva operated 1,960 buses in the Czech Republic.Arriva Czech Republic
Arriva


Train

German rail transport company Vogtlandbahn, owned by Arriva since 2004, operated several train routes in the Czech Republic as a subcontractor of
České dráhy České dráhy (English: ''Czech Railways''), often shortened to ČD, is the major railway operator in the Czech Republic providing regional and long-distance services. Overview The company was established in 1993, after the dissolution of Cze ...
(München – Regensburg – Hof – Plzeň – Praha, line VB2 Zwickau – Plauen – Bad Brambach – Františkovy Lázně – Cheb – Mariánské Lázně, line VB8 Marktredwitz – Schirnding – Cheb) and
GW Train Regio GW Train Regio is a Czech railway company mainly engaged in the operation of passenger rail transport on regional lines. History The company was formed from the passenger divisions of Viamont, a Czech rail operator. In 2008, Viamont Regio a. ...
, formerly Viamont (line VB1 Zwickau – Klingenthal – Kraslice – Sokolov). Since December 2010, Vogtlandbahn operates under its own name the line Trilex (Liberec – Zittau – Varnsdorf – Rybniště/Seifhennersdorf). After Arriva was bought by Deutsche Bahn in 2010, Vogtlandbahn was resold to the Italian state railways
Ferrovie dello Stato Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane S.p.A. ( "Italian Railways of the State"; previously only Ferrovie dello Stato, hence the abbreviation FS) is Italy's national state-owned railway holding company that manages transport, infrastructure, real estat ...
together with Luxembourg infrastructure fund Cube. Between September 2013 and December 2013, Arriva vlaky tried operating a commercial service from
Praha Masarykovo nádraží Praha Masarykovo nádraží (Prague Masaryk railway station) is a terminal railway station near Republic Square (náměstí Republiky) in the New Town area of Prague, Czech Republic. It was the first railway station in the city to serve steam ...
to
Kralupy nad Vltavou Kralupy nad Vltavou (; german: Kralup an der Moldau) is a town in Mělník District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 18,000 inhabitants. It is known as a traffic hub and industrial agglomeration. The town is a part ...
in competition with subsidised lines of České dráhy. The company did not succeed with its effort to gain a subsidy for it to continue. Four trains on the local Desná Railway, operated by Connex Morava (lately Veolia Transport Morava) since 2002, were taken over by Arriva Morava in July 2013. In March 2016, Arriva introduced a weekly service from Praha to
Trenčín Trenčín (, also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia of the central Váh River valley near the Czech border, around from Bratislava. It has a population of more than 55,000, which makes it the eighth largest municip ...
in Slovakia and daily service from Praha to
Benešov Benešov (; german: Beneschau; also known as Benešov u Prahy) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. The town is known for the Konopiště Castle. Administrative parts Villages of Baba, ...
. It has applied to increase this to twice daily from December 2016.


Denmark


Bus

In September 1997, Arriva purchased ''Unibus''. In March 1999, Arriva Denmark expanded with the acquisition of ''Bus Danmark'' In April 2001 Arriva acquired Denmark's largest bus operator, ''Combus'' with 1,200 vehicles. In August 2004, Arriva purchased ''Wulff'', which operated buses in
Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...
and
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
. In 2007, Arriva acquired ''Veolia Denmark'', then Denmark's second largest bus operator with 640 buses. Arriva operates 50% of bus services in Copenhagen and 40% throughout Denmark.


Train

In mid-2002, Arriva began to operate services on the
Varde Varde is a Danish city in southwestern Jutland and is the primary city in the municipality of Varde, in Region of Southern Denmark. In 2015 municipality changed its motto to "We in nature" to emphasize its rural atmosphere. The town has an old ma ...
to
Nørre Nebel Nørre Nebel is a town in southwest Jutland with a population of 1,316 (1 January 2022).Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...
. In March 2009 Arriva was awarded a new franchise until December 2018. Arriva operates 17% of the Danish rail network.


Waterbus

In 2000, Arriva began operating waterbuses in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
's harbour.


Hungary


Bus

In April 2008, Arriva purchased an 80% shareholding in Eurobus Invest, Hungary's largest private bus operator, which operates services in Hungary and Slovakia."Arriva moves into Hungary and Slovakia"
. ''Bus & Coach Professional''. 23 April 2008.
In 2009, Arriva purchased the remaining 20%. Arriva is in a
joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
with Videoton Holding operating as VT Transman. In May 2013, VT Transman began operating two bus contracts in
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
for eight years. This will see 150
Mercedes-Benz Citaro The Mercedes-Benz Citaro is a single-decker, rigid or articulated bus manufactured by Mercedes-Benz/EvoBus. Introduced in 1997, the Citaro is available in a range of configurations, and is in widespread use throughout Europe and parts of Asia ...
s added to the 225 bus fleet. The joint venture now operates under the VT-Arriva brand.


Italy


Bus and coach

In July 2002, Arriva purchased ''SAB Autoservizi'' and ''SAF - Società Autoservizi Friuli-Venezia Giulia'' operating in
Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
,
Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...
and
Friuli-Venezia Giulia (man), it, Friulana (woman), it, Giuliano (man), it, Giuliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_t ...
regions of northern Italy. In May 2004, Arriva expanded into the Udine area of the
Friuli-Venezia Giulia (man), it, Friulana (woman), it, Giuliano (man), it, Giuliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_t ...
region, buying 49% of 500 bus SAF, exercising an option in December 2005 to increase its stake to 60%. In October 2005, Arriva began operating in the
Piemonte it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
and
Valle d'Aosta , Valdostan or Valdotainian it, Valdostano (man) it, Valdostana (woman)french: Valdôtain (man)french: Valdôtaine (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = Official languages , population_blank1 = Italian French ...
regions of
northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...
with an 80% shareholding in SADEM, increased to 100% in 2008. In 2006 Arriva purchased a 35% share in Trieste Trasporti, increased in 2007 to 40%. In June 2007, Arriva entered a joint venture with
Ferrovie Nord Milano 450px, Map of the main branch of the FNM lines. FNM operates also the Brescia-Edolo railway in eastern Lombardy">Edolo.html" ;"title="Brescia-Edolo">Brescia-Edolo railway in eastern Lombardy, not shown in map. Ferrovie Nord Milano (FNM S.p.A.) is ...
to purchase 49% of 317 bus SPT Linea, which was then renamed ASF Autolinee. In 2008, it took control of
Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...
-based ''SAIA Transporti''.


Netherlands


Bus and coach

In January 1998, Arriva purchased ''Vancom Nederland'' followed in December 1998 by ''Veonn & Hanze''.Netherlands
Arriva
Arriva Timeline
Arriva
In June 1999, it formed a joint venture with
Nederlandse Spoorwegen Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS; ; en, "Dutch Railways") is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands. It is a Dutch state-owned company founded in 1938. The Dutch rail network is one of the busiest in the European Union, and the ...
to operate bus services in
Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...
, taking 100% ownership in 2003 and renaming it Arriva Openbaar Vervoer. In 2003, it won further work in
Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Nov ...
and
Province of Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn; fry, Grinslân) is the northeasternmost province of the Netherlands. It borders on Friesland to the west, Drenthe to the south, the German state of Lower Saxony to the east, and the Wadden Sea to the north. As of Feb ...
. It won further contracts in 2005 in Drenthe and
Waterland Waterland () is a municipality in the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland. It is situated north of Amsterdam, on the western shore of the Markermeer. It is well-known for comprising the touristy towns of Broek in Waterland and M ...
and later in the
Drechtsteden The Drechtsteden (; Dutch for "Drecht cities") are a number of towns and cities bordering each other in the delta area of the rivers Oude Maas, Noord, and Beneden-Merwede in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. These cooperate in the ''Geme ...
,
Alblasserwaard The Alblasserwaard () is a polder in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is mainly known for the windmills of Kinderdijk, located near the village of Kinderdijk in the polder's northwestern part. History The first human inhabitan ...
, Rivierenland,
Meierij The Meierij van 's-Hertogenbosch (; Dutch for "Bailiwick of 's-Hertogenbosch") was one of the four parts of the Duchy of Brabant The Duchy of Brabant was a State of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate o ...
, Oost-Brabant, and
Vijfheerenlanden Vijfheerenlanden (), literally "lands of five Lords", is a municipality in the province of Utrecht in the Netherlands. The municipality was created on 1 January 2019 through the merger of the former municipalities of Vianen (Utrecht), Leerdam and ...
areas. In 2009, Arriva lost the contracts in Drenthe and Groningen upon retendering but in 2010 won a contract in
Achterhoek The Achterhoek (; Dutch Low Saxon: ''Achterhook'') is a cultural region in the Eastern Netherlands. Its name (meaning "rear-corner") is geographically appropriate because the area lies in the easternmost part of the province of Gelderland and ther ...
and retained the Rivierenland contract. From December 2012 Arriva won the contract for
South Holland South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely ...
North, around
Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...
,
Alphen aan den Rijn Alphen aan den Rijn (; en, "Alphen upon Rhine" or "Alphen on the Rhine") is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The city is situated on the banks of the river Oude Rijn (Old Rhine), where the r ...
and Gouda and in
Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...
around
Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a city and municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 123,107 (2019). It is the provincial capital and seat of the ...
. It recently acquired most of
Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...
in December 2016 both bus and train systems.


=Contracts

=


Train

Arriva established the joint venture with
Nederlandse Spoorwegen Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS; ; en, "Dutch Railways") is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands. It is a Dutch state-owned company founded in 1938. The Dutch rail network is one of the busiest in the European Union, and the ...
in 1999 a public transport company
NoordNed NoordNed Personenvervoer B.V. (English translation Network North) was a public transport company operating trains and buses in the north and northeast of the Netherlands. Founded in 1999 as a joint venture by Arriva and Nederlandse Spoorwegen, af ...
op, taking 100% ownership in 2003, and dropping the name NoordNed two years later. In 2005 it secured a 15-year contract to operate trains from
Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...
to
Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a city and municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 123,107 (2019). It is the provincial capital and seat of the ...
,
Delfzijl Delfzijl (; gos, Delfsiel) is a city and former municipality with a population of 25,651 in the province of Groningen (province), Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. Delfzijl was a sluice between the Delf (canal), Delf and the Ems (riv ...
,
Roodeschool Roodeschool (Gronings: ''Roschoul'') is a community situated in the northeast of Groningen province in the Netherlands and forming part of the municipality of Het Hogeland. It had a population of around 860 in January 2017. Roodeschool's railway ...
and
Nieuweschans Bad Nieuweschans (also ''Lange Akkeren''; ; Gronings: ''Nij-Schans''; German: ''Bad Neuschanz'') is a village in the north-eastern Netherlands on the border with Germany. It forms part of the municipality of Oldambt. Nieuweschans means "new fort ...
. It also secured a contract to operate trains from Leeuwarden to Harlingen Haven and to
Stavoren Stavoren (; fry, Starum; previously Staveren) is a city in the province of Friesland, Netherlands, on the coast of the IJsselmeer, about 5 km (3.1 mi) south of Hindeloopen, in the municipality of Súdwest-Fryslân. Stavoren had a population ...
. Later that year it secured a contract to operate trains from
Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...
to
Gorinchem Gorinchem ( or ), also spelled Gorkum, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of Oc ...
and on to
Geldermalsen Geldermalsen () is a town and former municipality in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. Town of Geldermalsen The town centre of Geldermalsen contains a two-aisled Gothic church dating from the 15th century, with a Romanesque tower ...
(
MerwedeLingelijn MerwedeLingelijn is the name of the train service in the Netherlands between Geldermalsen and Dordrecht, on the western part of the Elst–Dordrecht railway. Train services were operated by Arriva until 8 Dec 2018, when Qbuzz took over. Since ...
). In 2012 Arriva commenced operating trains in the Achterhoek and between
Zwolle Zwolle () is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Overijssel and the province's second-largest municipality after Enschede with a population of 130,592 as of 1 December 2021. Zwolle is o ...
and Emmen. These services operate under the Spurt brand. On 21 June 2013, Arriva was selected to operate a new service between
The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
and
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
. Service was set to start in December 2015, but the project was cancelled in 2014 because the involved parties could not agree upon a final business case and because NS reactivated the original service to Brussels, making the new Arriva service unnecessary. It recently acquired most of
Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...
in December 2016 both bus and train systems.


=Contracts

=


Bus and train combination

The Province of Limburg awarded a contract in June 2015 to Arriva to provide for the entire public transport (buses and five regional rail lines) in Limburg from December 2016 up until 2031.
Abellio Abellio (also Abelio and Abelionni) was a god worshiped in the Garonne Valley in Gallia Aquitania (now southwest France), known primarily by a number of inscriptions which were discovered in Comminges, in the Pyrenees. He may have been a god of ...
has originally been named the preferred bidder, but after it was discovered Abellio had gained some information that was not available to the other bidders, the contract was withdrawn. Another tenderer,
Veolia Veolia Environnement S.A., branded as Veolia, is a French transnational company with activities in three main service and utility areas traditionally managed by public authorities – water management, waste management and energy services. It pr ...
, announced they will object to the decision of the province.


Poland


Bus

In May 2013, Arriva entered the Polish market through its acquisition of
Veolia Transport Veolia Transport (formerly Connex and CGEA Transport) was the international transport services division of the French-based multinational company Veolia until the 2011 merger that gave rise to Veolia Transdev. Veolia Transport traded under the ...
Central Europe with 840 buses.


Train

Arriva formed Arriva PCC, a joint venture with PCC Rail in December 2006. In December 2007 Arriva commenced operating services on all non-electrified lines in the
Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, also known as Cuiavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship or simply Kujawsko-Pomorskie, or Kujawy-Pomerania Province ( pl, województwo kujawsko-pomorskie ) is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divide ...
. In June 2010 Arriva took 100% ownership of the business and renamed it Arriva RP.Arriva Poland
Arriva
In December 2010 Arriva RP won a 10-year extension. In December 2013, Arriva will start operating trains on four electrified lines in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodship for two years with 12 existing trains.


Portugal


Bus and coach

In November 2000, Arriva purchased ''João Carlos Soares e Filhos'', ''Viação Costa & Lino Lda'', ''Ami-Transportes'' and ''Abílio da Costa Moreira & C Lda'' who were running inter-urban local bus services in the north west of Portugal.Arriva Portugal
Arriva.
In June 2002, Arriva bought a 51% shareholding Transportes Sul do Tejo, a scheduled bus and coach operator in the growing commuter region south of
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
. In September 2003, Arriva exercised an option to buy the remainder of the company. In May 2006, Arriva acquired a 21.5% share of leading transport company ''Barraqueiro'', with bus and rail operations in and around Lisbon, increasing the shareholding in January 2008 to 31.5%. In December 2021, Arriva Portugal announced the closure of its operation by the end of the year.


Serbia


Bus

In May 2013, Arriva entered the Serbian bus market with the purchase of
Veolia Transport Veolia Transport (formerly Connex and CGEA Transport) was the international transport services division of the French-based multinational company Veolia until the 2011 merger that gave rise to Veolia Transdev. Veolia Transport traded under the ...
Central Europe (Veolia Transport Litas in
Požarevac Požarevac ( sr-cyr, Пожаревац, ) is a city and the administrative centre of the Braničevo District in eastern Serbia. It is located between three rivers: Danube, Great Morava and Mlava and below the hill Čačalica (208m). As of 2011, ...
and Veolia Transport Luv in
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
) with 250 buses. In January 2015, Arriva commenced operating bus services in
Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...
with 33 buses.


Slovakia


Bus

In July 2008, Arriva entered the Slovak bus market with the purchase of an 80% share in Eurobus Invest. In July 2015, it purchased SAD Liorbus and SAD Trnava. Coach services are operated under the Arriva Express brand. by November 2016, Arriva was employing 2,390 people and operated 1,335 buses. Later, Arriva also bought the bus companies Veolia transport Nitra, SAD Nové Zámky, SAD Michalovce. In 2021, Arriva won a 10-years contract to operate IDS BK regional buses in
Bratislava Region The Bratislava Region ( sk, Bratislavský kraj, , german: Pressburger/Bratislavaer Landschaftsverband (until 1919), hu, Pozsonyi kerület) is one of the administrative regions of Slovakia. Its capital is Bratislava. The region was first esta ...
via its subsidiary Arriva Mobility Services s.r.o.


Slovenia


Bus

In May 2013, Arriva entered the Slovenian bus market with the purchase of
Veolia Transport Veolia Transport (formerly Connex and CGEA Transport) was the international transport services division of the French-based multinational company Veolia until the 2011 merger that gave rise to Veolia Transdev. Veolia Transport traded under the ...
Central Europe (Veolia Transport Štajerska, Veolia Transport Dolenjska and
Primorska The Slovene Littoral ( sl, Primorska, ; it, Litorale; german: Küstenland) is one of the five traditional regions of Slovenia. Its name recalls the former Austrian Littoral (''Avstrijsko Primorje''), the Habsburg possessions on the upper Ad ...
) with 270 buses.


Spain


Bus

In July 1998, Arriva purchased ''Ideal Auto Sociedad Anónima (IASA)'' followed in September 1999 by ''Transportes Finisterre'', both in Galicia. Their services cover three of the four provinces in the region:
A Coruña A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...
,
Lugo Lugo (, ; la, Lucus Augusti) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population ...
and
Ourense Ourense (; es, Orense ) is a city and capital of the province of Ourense, located in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, northwestern Spain. It is on the Camino Sanabrés path of the Way of St ...
, including part of the famous
Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...
pilgrimage route. In January 2002, Arriva commenced operating in
Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...
with the purchase of ''Autocares Mallorca'' and ''Bus Nord''.Arriva Spain
Arriva
These operate on the northern and western parts of the island, linking the capital Palma with towns such as Soller,
Inca The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts",  "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...
and
Alcúdia Alcúdia () is a municipality and township of the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It is the main tourist centre in the North of Majorca on the eastern coast. It is a large resort popular with families. Most of the hotels ...
. In 2007, Arriva acquired ''Autocares Fray Escoba'' and ''Esfera'' in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
. In July 2008, Arriva acquired ''Empresa de Blas y Cia'', which operates routes between Madrid and southwestern cities in its metropolitan area (
Alcorcón Alcorcón () is a city and municipality of Spain located in the Community of Madrid. as of 2020, it had a population of 172,384. Geography The municipality, largely flat, lies at an average altitude of 711 metres above sea level, with the h ...
,
Móstoles Móstoles () is a municipality of Spain located in the Community of Madrid. With over 200,000 inhabitants, it is the region's second most populated municipality after Madrid. Móstoles was a small town for a long time, but expanded rapidly in the ...
,
Villaviciosa de Odón Villaviciosa de Odón () is a municipality in the western zone of the Community of Madrid in Spain. The town is located 15 km west of Madrid's city center, in the western zone of the metro area. The Spanish Air Force Museum and the Universida ...
,
Navalcarnero Navalcarnero is a municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain, located about from Madrid. Sights include the church of Inmaculada Concepción. History By the end of 1499 the city of Segovia founded the location of Navalcarnero, to put an en ...
...), and between those cities.


United Kingdom


Bus and coach

Arriva operates 5,900 buses in London, the north east, north west and south east of England, Yorkshire, the Midlands and Wales.


Patient transport

Arriva Transport Solutions provides non-emergency ambulance services, typically to convey disabled patients to and from hospital out-patient appointments. These services, formerly provided by ambulance services are now awarded by competitive tender. The company has been running these services in Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Rutland since 2012. A report by the
Care Quality Commission The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care of the United Kingdom. It was established in 2009 to regulate and inspect health and social care services in England. I ...
in 2014 said that patients were "often" arriving late for appointments, and taxi drivers with "poor attitudes" being used when other resources were unavailable.
Following its successful bid over the rival North West ambulance service for non–emergency transport, in Greater Manchester Arriva admitted it had submitted incorrect performance figures which had earned it a £1.5 m bonus. Arriva had been the subject of many complaints about its service. Comparisons were drawn with misreporting in the UK Serco scandal and MPs said the Serious Fraud Office may need to be involved.


Train

Arriva has operated a number of rail franchises in the UK since
privatisation Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
in 1996 through its subsidiary,
Arriva UK Trains Arriva UK Trains Limited is the company that oversees Arriva's train operating companies in the United Kingdom. It gained its first franchises in February 2000. These were later lost, though several others were gained. In January 2010, with th ...
. It gained its first franchises in February 2000. Arriva UK Trains currently runs a number of train operating companies: *
Arriva Rail London Arriva Rail London is a train operating company owned by Arriva UK Trains that operates the London Overground concession on behalf of Transport for London. History In April 2015, Transport for London placed a notice in the ''Official Journal ...
: operates
London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a ...
, concession runs until May 2024 *
Chiltern Railways Chiltern Railways, formally The Chiltern Railway Company Limited, is a British train operating company that has operated the Chiltern Railways franchise since July 1996. Since 2009, it has been a subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains. Chiltern Railw ...
: operates services on the
Chiltern Main Line The Chiltern Main Line is a railway line which links London () and Birmingham ( Moor Street and Snow Hill), the United Kingdom's two largest cities, by a route via High Wycombe, Bicester, Banbury, Leamington Spa and Solihull. It is one of tw ...
, franchise runs until December 2027 *
CrossCountry CrossCountry (legal name XC Trains Limited) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Arriva UK Trains, operating the Cross Country franchise. The CrossCountry franchise was restructured by the Department for Transport (DfT) ...
: operates long-distance cross-country routes, franchise runs until October 2023 * Grand Central:
open-access operator In rail transport in Europe, an open-access operator is a train operating company that takes full commercial risk, running on infrastructure owned by a third party and buying paths on a chosen route and in countries where rail services run under ...
with services on the
East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broa ...
purchased in November 2011
Arriva TrainCare Arriva TrainCare (formerly LNWR) is a railway rolling stock maintenance company. Formed in 1993 by Pete Waterman, it is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains. History In 1993, Pete Waterman formed LNWR to provide maintenance for locomotives and roll ...
(previously LNWR) operates train maintenance depots at
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
,
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
,
Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The Crewe built-up area had a total population of 75,556 in 2011, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston ...
,
Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, o ...
and
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
. Following the purchase of Arriva by Deutsche Bahn in August 2010, Arriva UK Trains expanded to take over Deutsche Bahn's existing
DB Regio DB Regio AG is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn which operates regional and commuter train services in Germany. DB Regio AG, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main. It is a 100% subsidiary of the Deutsche Bahn Group and there part of the DB Regio bus ...
UK division which consisted of
Chiltern Railways Chiltern Railways, formally The Chiltern Railway Company Limited, is a British train operating company that has operated the Chiltern Railways franchise since July 1996. Since 2009, it has been a subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains. Chiltern Railw ...
,
Tyne & Wear Metro The Tyne and Wear Metro is an overground and underground light rail rapid transit system serving Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, and the City of Sunderland (together forming Tyne and Wear). The network opened in ...
and
London Overground Rail Operations London Overground Rail Operations Limited was a train operating company contracted to operate the London Overground train service on the National Rail network, under the franchise control of Transport for London. The company was a 50/50 joint ...
. Arriva UK Trains wishes to expand the number of UK Rail businesses it operates by developing open access operations and successfully bidding for further
Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...
rail franchises."Rail Professional interview: Bob Holland"
''Rail Professional''. October 2011.
Alliance Rail Holdings Alliance Rail Holdings is a railway company developing plans to operate passenger trains in the United Kingdom through its subsidiaries Great North Western Railway Company Limited (GNWR) and Grand Southern Railway (GSR). Despite various propos ...
continues to develop new open access proposals following the rejection of its initial plans by the Office of Rail Regulation in 2011. During 2011/12 Arriva's applications to bid for the
InterCity West Coast InterCity West Coast (ICWC) was a 1997–2019 railway franchise in the United Kingdom for passenger trains on the West Coast Main Line (and branches thereof), between London Euston, the West Midlands, North Wales, Liverpool, Manchester, Carlis ...
, Greater Anglia,
Essex Thameside Essex Thameside is a railway franchise for the provision of passenger services on the London, Tilbury and Southend line in east London and south Essex. It was formed on 26 May 1996, following the privatisation of British Rail and the franchise wa ...
and
Thameslink Thameslink is a 24-hour main-line route in the British railway system, running from , , , and via central London to Sutton, , , Rainham, , , , and . The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying m ...
franchises were all rejected by the
Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...
. Following this run of failure Arriva was publicly critical of the government's prequalification process and called for it to be abolished. However Arriva was subsequently shortlisted for the Greater Western,
Crossrail Crossrail is a railway construction project mainly in central London. Its aim is to provide a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system crossing the capital from suburbs on the west to east, by connecting two major railway ...
,
Caledonian Sleeper ''Caledonian Sleeper'' is the collective name for overnight sleeper train services between London and Scotland, in the United Kingdom. It is one of only two currently operating sleeper services on the railway in the United Kingdom, the other b ...
and
ScotRail ScotRail Trains Limited, trading as ScotRail ( gd, Rèile na h-Alba), is a Scottish train operating company that is publicly owned by Scottish Rail Holdings on behalf of the Scottish Government. It has been operating the ScotRail franchise a ...
franchises.


Former operations


Germany


Bus

In February 2005, Arriva purchased Sippel, a bus operator in the Rhine Main.Annual Report 31 December 2004 Arriva In May 2006 Verkehrsbetriebe Bils was purchased followed in December 2006 by 80% of NeiBeverkehr.Annual Report 31 December 2006 Arriva


Train

In April 2004, Arriva purchased Prignitzer Eisenbahn Gruppe which operated five franchises. In October 2004 a 77% shareholding, increased later in the year to 93%, was purchased in Regentalbahn. In 2007, Arriva purchased an 85% shareholding in Osthannoversche Eisenbahnen. As part of the takeover of Arriva by
Deutsche Bahn The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder. describes itself as the se ...
, Arriva's German railway operations were sold to
Ferrovie dello Stato Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane S.p.A. ( "Italian Railways of the State"; previously only Ferrovie dello Stato, hence the abbreviation FS) is Italy's national state-owned railway holding company that manages transport, infrastructure, real estat ...
to comply with a
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...
condition. These are now branded as
Netinera Netinera (formerly Arriva Deutschland) is a railway company operating in Germany. It was founded as a subsidiary of British Arriva plc in 2003 and initially headquartered in Hamburg. After the acquisition of Regentalbahn in 2004, the company's se ...
.


Malta


Bus

In July 2011, Arriva commenced operating a ten-year concession to operate all scheduled bus services on
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
and
Gozo Gozo (, ), Maltese: ''Għawdex'' () and in antiquity known as Gaulos ( xpu, 𐤂𐤅𐤋, ; grc, Γαῦλος, Gaúlos), is an island in the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After t ...
. Arriva held a 67% shareholding with the local
Tumas Group The Tumas Group is a real estate and development company in Malta, founded in the 1970s by Tumas Fenech (deceded 1st February 1999). The group is today headed by Raymond (Ray) Fenech. Tumas Group is active in online gaming, hospitality and leisu ...
owning the remaining 33%. The main fleet of Arriva Malta was formed of 172 new
King Long King Long United Automotive Industry Co., Ltd () or commonly known as King Long (, literally, ''Golden Dragon'') is a Chinese bus manufacturer headquartered in Xiamen, Fujian. Founded in December 1988, it is focused mainly on developing, manufac ...
buses. These were supported on high-density routes by 68 former
Arriva London Arriva London is a major bus company operating services in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus and operates services under contract to Transport for London. It was formed in 1998 from a fusion of previously separate Arriva s ...
Mercedes-Benz O530G Citaro articulated buses. Ten hybrid
Optare Solo The Optare Solo is a low-floor minibus/midibus with one or two doors manufactured by Optare in the United Kingdom since 1998. The Solo name is a play on its low-floor status, the manufacturer marketing its vehicle as having an entrance that is ...
s and two
Bluebird The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the order of Passerines in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas. ...
mini-buses for use in the city of
Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit and capital city, capital of Malta. Located on the Malta (island), main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, i ...
were also purchased. An assortment of the newest buses from the former owner/driver pre-July 2011 operation were also acquired and refurbished to bring them broadly into line with the rest of the fleet. This included the fitting of air conditioning and CCTV equipment and rebranding into standard Arriva livery for daily use alongside the main fleet. These included buses built by SCARNIF, MCV, BMC, King Long and Saracakis among others, with the main common factor being that they are all fully automatic and low floor designs. Arriva has been harshly criticised both by commuters and by the government agency Transport Malta for consistently failing to keep up standards. On 14 November 2012, Arriva was harshly reprimanded by Transport Malta and given until the end of the month to bring up all its routes to 100% efficiency before TM deploys its own shuttles at Arriva's expense. In August 2013, the Government of Malta instructed Arriva Malta to remove the articulated buses from service, pending investigation following three major fire outbreaks in the span of 48 hours. The fires destroyed the buses and in one case caused extensive damage to some nearby vehicles belonging to
MaltaPost MaltaPost p.l.c. is the postal service company in Malta. The public limited company took over the postal services previously carried out by Posta Limited, and started operating on 1 May 1998. History MaltaPost p.l.c. was registered with the Malt ...
, the country's postal operator. Nobody was injured in these incidents. Like in the UK when the same buses had caught fire, these buses became a popular joke in conversations and social media sites. By the end of December 2013 Arriva had run up losses of €50 million in two and a half years. On 1 January 2014, Arriva ceased operations in Malta, with the services nationalised by the Maltese government as Malta Public Transport. Upon being tendered, the services were taken over by ALSA.


Sweden


Bus

Arriva operated bus lines in southern Sweden/The Skåne Region from 1997 when it purchased ''Unibus'' of Denmark.Arriva Sweden
Arriva
Arriva operated bus lines in certain municipalities in the
Stockholm County Stockholm County ( sv, Stockholms län, link=no ) is a county or '' län'' (in Swedish) on the Baltic Sea coast of Sweden. It borders Uppsala County and Södermanland County. It also borders Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The city of Stockholm ...
:
Sigtuna Municipality Sigtuna Municipality (''Sigtuna kommun'') is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Märsta, approximately north of the Swedish capital, Stockholm. The municipality is a part of Metropolita ...
,
Upplands Väsby Municipality Upplands Väsby Municipality (''Upplands Väsby kommun'') is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden, with a population of 38,963 (2010). Its seat is located in the town of Upplands Väsby. The municipality was created in connec ...
and
Vallentuna Municipality Vallentuna Municipality (''Vallentuna kommun'') is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Vallentuna. The current municipality was established as a result of the municipal reform of 1971. Its ...
from the 1st of March 2009 until the 21st of June 2019. In
Ekerö Municipality Ekerö Municipality ( sv, Ekerö kommun) is a municipality in the province of Uppland in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. The name derives from the name of the main island within the municipality whose name is Ekerön, and literally mean ...
, traffic started on the 1st of March 2009 however Arriva won this contract again in 2019. The E32 contract which was procured in 2019 had three contesters Arriva who came on first place,
Nobina Nobina AB (former Concordia Bus AB) is the largest bus transport group in the Nordic region, serving markets in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden with a total of 3,347 buses (2014). Since 2005 the group is based in Stockholm. History Conco ...
who came on second place and
Transdev Transdev, formerly Veolia Transdev, is a French-based international private-sector company which operates public transport. It has operations in 17 countries and territories as of November 2020. History The group was formed by the merger of V ...
who came on third place. In August 2012 Arriva began operation in western Stockholm with 255 buses under a 12-year contract with the regional transport authority.Arriva gears up for start of services in Stockholm
Arriva Sweden 10 August 2012
In January 2013 a further 229 buses were added.
Deutsche Bahn 8 January 2013
When Arriva took over the Roslagen Light Rail and bus traffic in the
Roslagen Roslagen is the name of the coastal areas of Uppland province in Sweden, which also constitutes the northern part of the Stockholm archipelago. Historically, it was the name for all the coastal areas of the Baltic Sea, including the eastern par ...
area of Stockholm, there was total chaos. Arriva's failure to follow the contract resulted in a fine of 174 million kronor. Arriva operated services in the Halland Region from June 2010, partly taking over services from Swebus. In July 2022, Arriva sold all of its Swedish bus operations to
VR Group VR-Group Plc ( fi, VR-Yhtymä Oyj, sv, VR-Group Abp), commonly known as VR, is a government-owned railway company in Finland. VR's most important function is the operation of Finland's passenger rail services with 250 long-distance and 800 co ...
with 800 buses.Finland's VR Group acquires Arriva Sweden
''International Railway Journal'' 24 March 2022
VR completes acquisition of Arriva Sweden
''International Railway Journal'' 7 July 2022


Train

In June 2007, Arriva won a nine-year franchise for the '' Pågatåg'' regional rail services in
Skåne County Skåne County ( sv, Skåne län, link=no ), sometimes referred to as Scania County in English, is the most southern county, or , of Sweden, basically corresponding to the traditional province Scania. It borders the counties of Halland, Kronobe ...
, south Sweden. In 2009, Arriva expanded its rail operations in the country with a new contract operating the between Göteborg and Örebro. In December 2010, ''DB Regio Sverige AB'' started to operate regional trains in
Östgötapendeln Östgötapendeln is a commuter rail system that stretches from the historical provinces Östergötland into Småland in Sweden. Östgötapendeln started its operation June 12, 1995 with the line Norrköping-Linköping-Mjölby-Tranås. In 201 ...
. In November 2011, the company was renamed ''Arriva Östgötapendeln AB''. From August 2012, Arriva has operated the Stockholm light rail systems Cross Light Rail, Nockeby Light Rail, Lidingoe Light Rail and Saltsjoe Light Rail. In January 2013, Arriva commenced operating the Roslagen Light Rail in the north of
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
. In July 2022, Arriva sold all of its Swedish rail operations to
VR Group VR-Group Plc ( fi, VR-Yhtymä Oyj, sv, VR-Group Abp), commonly known as VR, is a government-owned railway company in Finland. VR's most important function is the operation of Finland's passenger rail services with 250 long-distance and 800 co ...
with 238 trains.ref name=IRJ070722/>


United Kingdom


Bus

*
Arriva Scotland West Arriva Scotland West was a bus company based in Inchinnan, near Paisley, Scotland. It was formed in 1997 as a rebranding of the former Clydeside 2000 company when purchased by Arriva. On 26 March 2012, the business was sold to McGill's Bus Ser ...
sold to
McGill's Bus Services McGill's Bus Services is a bus operator based in Greenock, Scotland.The Original Tour Tootbus London, formerly The Original Tour is a London bus tour operator using open-top double-decker buses. It also holds the franchise to run City Sightseeing's London tour. Based in Wandsworth, it is a subsidiary of RATP Dev. History T ...
sold to
RATP Group RATP may refer to: Transportation: * RATP Group, or ', a public transport operator based in Paris, France * RATP Iași (), a transit operator responsible for public transportation in Iași, Romania * RATP Ploiești (), a transit operator responsi ...
in September 2014 * Arriva Horsham sold to Metrobus in 2009


Train

*
Arriva Trains Merseyside Arriva Trains Merseyside was a train operating company in England owned by Arriva that operated the Merseyrail Electrics franchise from January 1997 until July 2003, when the Merseyrail railway franchise was transformed into the local Merseyrai ...
ran urban rail services on
Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...
from February 2000 until March 2003 *
Arriva Trains Northern Arriva Trains Northern was a train operating company in England owned by Arriva that operated the Regional Railways North East franchise from March 1997 until December 2004. Arriva resumed operating Northern train services again on 1 April 2016 ...
ran local rail services in
Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
for the Regional Railways North East franchise from March 1997 until December 2004 *
Arriva Trains Wales Arriva Trains Wales (ATW; cy, Trenau Arriva Cymru) was a British train operating company owned by Arriva UK Trains that operated the Wales & Borders franchise. It ran urban and inter-urban passenger services to all railway stations in Wales, ...
: operated the majority of rail services in Wales, the
Wales & Borders franchise , image_filename = , image_size = , caption = , nameforarea = service area , regions = Wales, North West England, the West Midlands, and Gloucestershire. , operator = Transport for Wales Rail , dates = 14 O ...
ran from 7 December 2003 until 13 October 2018. *
London Overground Rail Operations London Overground Rail Operations Limited was a train operating company contracted to operate the London Overground train service on the National Rail network, under the franchise control of Transport for London. The company was a 50/50 joint ...
50/50 joint venture with
MTR Corporation MTR Corporation Limited is a majority government-owned public transport operator and property developer in Hong Kong which operates the Mass Transit Railway, the most popular public transport network in Hong Kong. It is listed on the Hong ...
, operated
London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a ...
concession from November 2007 until November 2016, now operated by
Arriva Rail London Arriva Rail London is a train operating company owned by Arriva UK Trains that operates the London Overground concession on behalf of Transport for London. History In April 2015, Transport for London placed a notice in the ''Official Journal ...
*
Arriva Rail North Arriva Rail North, branded as Northern by Arriva (legal name Arriva Rail North Limited) was a train operating company in Northern England which began operating the Northern franchise on 1 April 2016 and inherited units from the previous operato ...
: operated from 1 April 2016 until 29 February 2020 *
Tyne & Wear Metro The Tyne and Wear Metro is an overground and underground light rail rapid transit system serving Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, and the City of Sunderland (together forming Tyne and Wear). The network opened in ...
operated from April 2010 until March 2017 *
Wrexham & Shropshire Wrexham & Shropshire (legally ''Wrexham, Shropshire & Marylebone Railway Company Limited'') was an open access operator that provided passenger rail services in the United Kingdom. Services between Wrexham and London Marylebone operated from A ...
joint venture open access operation (50% shareholding). Ran services between
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
and
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, ceased January 2011 due to lack of profitability


Branding

Prior to being rebranded as Arriva in November 1997, the Cowie fleets generally were still trading under their pre-privatisation names with individual liveries. As part of the rebranding the operations were renamed as ,
Arriva Fox County Arriva Midlands East, is a bus company operating services in Leicestershire. It is a trading division of Arriva Midlands which is a subsidiary of Arriva plc which is itself owned by the government of Germany through Deutsche Bahn. History ...
etc. A uniform livery of aquamarine (pantone 321) with a cream coloured semicircle at the front with a yellow skirt and signwriting was adopted. This livery was adopted by most by Arriva's European acquisitions as well as
Arriva Trains Northern Arriva Trains Northern was a train operating company in England owned by Arriva that operated the Regional Railways North East franchise from March 1997 until December 2004. Arriva resumed operating Northern train services again on 1 April 2016 ...
and
Arriva Trains Wales Arriva Trains Wales (ATW; cy, Trenau Arriva Cymru) was a British train operating company owned by Arriva UK Trains that operated the Wales & Borders franchise. It ran urban and inter-urban passenger services to all railway stations in Wales, ...
. The same livery was applied to the
Arriva London Arriva London is a major bus company operating services in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus and operates services under contract to Transport for London. It was formed in 1998 from a fusion of previously separate Arriva s ...
fleet albeit with red in lieu of aquamarine to comply with a Transport for London requirement for buses to be 80% red. London vehicles are now painted all-over red to comply with Transport for London's amended requirements. In the mid-2000s, an aquamarine livery with less cream, a dark blue skirt and yellow stripe was adopted for some longer distance services in the United Kingdom. The first buses to carry this new style were 3 Northern Counties Palatine II DAF DB250s based at the Gillingham garage for routes 700/701 between Medway Towns and Bluewater. Dubbed the interurban livery, in September 2009 it was decided to adopt this livery as standard for all UK buses. Most European operations retain the old livery, although some Czech buses have also received it. In December 2008 Arriva Trains Wales unveiled a dark blue livery on its
Mark 2 Mark 2 is the second chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. In this chapter, the first arguments between Jesus and other Jewish religious teachers appear. Jesus heals a paralyzed man and forgives his sins, m ...
carriages, this has since been adopted as its standard livery. Exceptions to standard livery include: * Arriva Denmark – Yellow and blue (following Sydttrafik, Midttrafik, Nordjyllands Trafikselskab and Movias own colour schemes) *
Arriva London Arriva London is a major bus company operating services in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus and operates services under contract to Transport for London. It was formed in 1998 from a fusion of previously separate Arriva s ...
– red livery specified by Transport for London * Arriva Mobility Solutions (Slovakia) - red livery according to
IDS BK IDS may refer to: Computing * IBM Informix Dynamic Server, a relational database management system * Ideographic Description Sequence, describing a Unihan character as a combination of other characters * Integrated Data Store, one of the first da ...
specifications *
Arriva Rail London Arriva Rail London is a train operating company owned by Arriva UK Trains that operates the London Overground concession on behalf of Transport for London. History In April 2015, Transport for London placed a notice in the ''Official Journal ...
– white, orange & blue livery specified by Transport for London *
Arriva Rail North Arriva Rail North, branded as Northern by Arriva (legal name Arriva Rail North Limited) was a train operating company in Northern England which began operating the Northern franchise on 1 April 2016 and inherited units from the previous operato ...
- white & blue livery specified by
Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...
* Arriva Stockholm – Red and blue specified by SL *
Chiltern Railways Chiltern Railways, formally The Chiltern Railway Company Limited, is a British train operating company that has operated the Chiltern Railways franchise since July 1996. Since 2009, it has been a subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains. Chiltern Railw ...
– existing white & blue livery retained, superseded in 2013 by a white & silver livery *
CrossCountry CrossCountry (legal name XC Trains Limited) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Arriva UK Trains, operating the Cross Country franchise. The CrossCountry franchise was restructured by the Department for Transport (DfT) ...
– maroon, grey & pink * Grand Central – existing black & orange livery retained *
Green Line Coaches Green Line is a commuter coach brand in the Home counties of England. The trademark is owned by Arriva, with services operated by Arriva Shires & Essex and Reading Buses. Green Line had its origin in the network of coach services established ...
– light & dark green * Glasgow Flyer – white, green & black * – white with red logos * Spurt – red and white * VT-Arriva, Hungary – light blue *
Wardle Transport Wardle Transport was a bus operator based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. Formed in 1963 as Jack's of Norton, it expanded from 2001 to operate a network of local bus routes using over 60 vehicles. Arriva purchased the company in Dece ...
– Arriva livery but with red in lieu of aquamarine *
Yorkshire Tiger Team Pennine operates both local and regional bus services in West Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Blazefield, which operates bus services across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire. History Sta ...
– Yorkshire Tiger branded vehicles are mainly orange with the exception of Tiger Blue and Flying Tiger which are blue *
Transportes Sul do Tejo Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.Sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin "sapphir ...
brand for premium services in the UK, in similar fashion to
Stagecoach Gold Stagecoach Gold is a luxury bus sub-brand used by various Stagecoach bus subsidiaries in the United Kingdom. Stagecoach Gold (originally Goldline) was launched in 2007 and was designed to attract more middle-class passengers to choose bus travel ...
with buses fitted with leather seats and
WiFi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio waves ...
.


Suppliers

Arriva Bus & Coach was a bus and coach dealership based in
Gomersal Gomersal is a town in Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is south of Bradford, east of Cleckheaton and north of Heckmondwike. It is close to the River Spen and forms part of the Heavy Woollen District. History Gomersal was attested ...
, England. Established in 1951 as Stanley Hughes, it was purchased by the Paul Sykes Group in 1982 and the Cowie Group in 1988. It sold primarily
Plaxton Plaxton is an English builder of bus and coach vehicle bodies based in Scarborough. Founded in 1907 by Frederick William Plaxton, it became a subsidiary of Alexander Dennis in May 2007. In 2019, the maker was acquired by Canadian bus manufac ...
bodied coaches, and was a
DAF Daf ( fa, دف) also known as Dâyere and Riq is a Middle Eastern (mainly Iranian) frame drum musical instrument, used in popular and classical music in South and Central Asia. It is also used in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbe ...
dealer. Hughes DAF was rebranded to Arriva Bus & Coach in 1998 and is now the main dealer for Temsa and
Van Hool Van Hool NV () is a Belgian family-owned coachbuilder and manufacturer of buses, coaches, trolleybuses, and trailers. Most of the buses and coaches are built entirely by Van Hool, with engines and axles sourced from Caterpillar, Cummins, ...
. coaches in the UK as well as more recently Ilesbus. In June 2020, it was announced the company would restructure to significantly downsize. During January 2021, it was announced Arriva Bus & Coach would close on 31 March 2021.Bus and Coach dealership announces closure date
''Coach & Bus Week'' 12 January 2021


References


External links


Arriva official website
{{Authority control Arriva Group companies Auto dealerships of the United Kingdom Bus operating companies Bus transport in Spain Companies based in the City of Sunderland Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange Private providers of NHS services Public transport operators Transport companies established in 1938 Transport operators of the United Kingdom 1938 establishments in England