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Arriva Southern CountiesCompanies House extract company no 2031405
Arriva Southern Counties Limited formerly Invictaway Limited formerly Einkorn Limited
is a bus operator in
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...
,
West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...
,
East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East ...
,
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
,
Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...
,
Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500. Developed after the Second World War as a new ...
, and
Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...
in England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus.


History

In November 1986, the National Bus Company sold Maidstone & District in a
management buyout A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management-, and/or leveraged buyout became noted phenomena o ...
to Einkorn Limited. In June 1988, New Enterprise Coaches of
Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Malling, it had an estimated population ...
was purchased, followed in December 1991 by four buses and their associated
Kent County Council Kent County Council is a county council that governs most of the county of Kent in England. It is the upper tier of elected local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council h ...
services from Shearings, and in June 1992 Boro'line Maidstone.History - South East
Arriva
In 1990,
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 ...
purchased the Cranleigh,
Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...
and Woking based operations of Alder Valley followed in 1993 by Colchester Borough Transport and Southend Transport. In April 1995, Einkorn was sold to British Bus, which had purchased Kentish Bus in July 1994 and Londonlinks in 1988. In August 1995, Einkorn was renamed Invictaway. Invictaway was previously the name of the Maidstone & District commuter services to London, which were renamed Green Line at the same time. In July 1996, British Bus was taken over by the
Cowie Group Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.London & Country (also owned by British Bus) to it. The subsidiary operating companies therefore became: *Maidstone & District: **Mainly became Arriva Kent & Sussex **Medway area became Arriva Medway Towns *Kentish Bus: **Mainly became Arriva Kent Thameside **Partly became Arriva Kent & Sussex *London & Country: **Became Arriva Guildford & West Surrey *LondonLinks: **Became Arriva Croydon & North Surrey Current operations in the South East area are: *
Arriva Guildford & West Surrey Arriva Guildford & West Surrey was a bus operator based in Guildford, England. It was a subsidiary of Arriva. The company operated services in West Sussex and Surrey, as part of the Arriva Southern Counties division. Services that were run were ...
*Arriva Kent & Sussex *
Arriva Kent Thameside Arriva Kent Thameside is a bus operator based in North-West Kent, England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva. The company operates services in Northfleet, Gravesend & Dartford as part of the Arriva Southern Counties division from their Northfleet ...
*Arriva Medway Towns *
Arriva Southend Arriva Southend is a division of Arriva Southern Counties, a subsidiary of transport group Arriva which operates bus services in and around the Southend-on-Sea, Rochford, Rayleigh areas of Essex. They operate most services east of Southend and ...
Many reorganisations of Arriva operations in South East England have followed since and today the company also controls Arriva Guildford & West Surrey, Arriva West Sussex, and Arriva Southend. The Croydon & North Surrey subsidiary was largely transferred to Arriva London. In 2001, the
Crawley Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of ...
depot and operations were sold to Metrobus and the depot in Merstham was closed. In August 2004, Arriva Colchester was sold to
Tellings-Golden Miller Tellings-Golden Miller is a charter coach operator in England. It was a subsidiary of Arriva twice previously, but once again has returned to family ownership. The company is now a subsidiary of Falcon Coaches based in Byfleet, Surrey. History ...
, although with the December 2007, sale of Tellings-Golden Miller, Colchester is once again owned by Arriva, albeit not under the control of Arriva Southern Counties. In October 2009, the
Horsham Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...
depot and routes were sold to Metrobus with 19 buses.Go-Ahead to acquire Arriva's Horsham Bus
''Bus & Coach Professional'' 3 September 2009
In March 2015, Network Colchester and Network Harlow operations were taken over from
Tellings-Golden Miller Tellings-Golden Miller is a charter coach operator in England. It was a subsidiary of Arriva twice previously, but once again has returned to family ownership. The company is now a subsidiary of Falcon Coaches based in Byfleet, Surrey. History ...
, who at the time was an Arriva subsidiary. Both operation companies were rebranded Arriva Colchester and Arriva Harlow respectively. The Medway Towns network was upgraded in a £10 million investment marketed as Operation Overdrive. In April 2021, Arriva announced the
Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby tow ...
depot would close in July 2021, with routes 360, 361 and 367 being withdrawn and re-tendered by
Kent County Council Kent County Council is a county council that governs most of the county of Kent in England. It is the upper tier of elected local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council h ...
. All three routes transferred to Chalkwell Coaches on Monday 12 July 2021. In October 2021, Arriva announced that routes 306 and 308 from
Northfleet Northfleet is a town in the borough of Gravesham in Kent, England. It is located immediately west of Gravesend, and on the border with the Borough of Dartford. Northfleet has its own railway station on the North Kent Line, just east of Ebbsf ...
depot would be withdrawn. These services were taken over by Redroute Buses on 1 November 2021. In October 2021, Arriva announced it was planning to close the
Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...
depot and cease operations in Surrey from 18 December 2021. From that date, 6 routes will be taken over by Stagecoach South, with routes 36/37 being replaced by a new route 6 and an extension to the existing Route 1. Route A was withdrawn without replacement from 14 November 2021. The depot was leased to Stagecoach South.Surprise tenant for Arriva's Guildford depot ''Buses'' issue 806 May 2022 page 14


Services


Park & Ride

Until February 2022, Arriva Southern Counties operated the Maidstone park & ride under contract to Maidstone Borough Council. The service linked Maidstone Town Centre with two park & ride sites, one on London Road and one on Willington Street. The service was withdrawn in February 2022 due to reduced passenger numbers as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.


Arriva Sapphire

Arriva Southern Counties currently operate four
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 "sa ...
routes in
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
and
Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500. Developed after the Second World War as a new ...
on the following services:


Fastrack

Arriva Southern Counties are one of the companies who operate the Fastrack busway scheme in the Thames Gateway area of Kent on behalf of
Kent County Council Kent County Council is a county council that governs most of the county of Kent in England. It is the upper tier of elected local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council h ...
and Prologis. Arriva Southern Counties currently operate two of the three Fastrack services: * Route A runs from
Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...
to Bluewater via Temple Hill, The Bridge and * Route B runs from Temple Hill to
Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Rochester, it is ...
via
Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...
, Darent Valley Hospital, Bluewater, Greenhithe and Ebbsfleet Valley Since November 2007, Route B has connected with the Eurostar at Ebbsfleet International railway station, and Eurostar passengers are permitted free travel on the service. On 11 February 2008, Arriva began trialling their mobile "m-ticket" system on the Fastrack Network before rolling the system out on all Southern Counties services.


Depots


Current Depots

The locations of Arriva Southern Counties' depots and the divisions which operate them are:


Former Depots

Former depots of Arriva Southern Counties were: Dartford and Grays garages were the only Arriva Southern Counties depots which did not have commercial services and only handled services operated under contract to Transport for London with all buses painted in red Arriva livery. Commercial routes previously operated from Dartford depot before it became an all Transport for London depot were transferred to Northfleet. Grays depot switched to all Transport for London services after Arriva Southend withdrew both commercial routes 373 and 383 in the Grays area, partially replacing them by extending route 5 from
Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north ...
. Routes 44 and 150, the remaining services in the Grays area, are operated under contract to
Thurrock Council Thurrock Borough Council, usually known as simply Thurrock Council, is the local authority for the borough of Thurrock in Essex, England. Since 1997, Thurrock has been a unitary authority, combining the functions of a non-metropolitan county ...
. The buses used for these routes were transferred to Southend. As at September 2014, Dartford garage operated London routes 160,
428 __NOTOC__ Year 428 ( CDXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Felix and Taurus (or, less frequently, year 1181 ''Ab urb ...
,
492 Year 492 ( CDXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Anastasius and Rufus (or, less frequently, year 1245 ''Ab urbe c ...
, B12,
B13 B13 may refer to: * 130 mm/50 B13 Pattern 1936, Soviet naval gun * B13 (New York City bus) serving Brooklyn * B13 road (Cyprus) * B13tech, a futuristic fictional technology created by the character Brainiac 13 * Bensen B-13, a Bensen aircraft * ...
and B15. Grays garage operated London routes 66,
346 Year 346 ( CCCXLVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Claudius (or, less frequently, year 109 ...
, 370, 375 and
499 __NOTOC__ Year 499 ( CDXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Iohannes without colleague (or, less frequently, year 125 ...
. As part of a decision to consolidate all of Arriva's Transport for London routes, Dartford and Grays garages transferred to Arriva London on 1 January 2016.


Fleet

As at December 2013 the fleet consisted of 900 buses and coaches. As at September 2014, 113 buses were dedicated to the Transport for London services.


References


External links


Company website
{{Bus companies in South East England 1986 establishments in England Southern Counties British companies established in 1986 Bus operators in Kent Transport companies established in 1986 Transport in Kent Transport in Southend-on-Sea Transport in Surrey Transport in Thurrock