North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...

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 ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

Arriva UK Bus Arriva UK Bus is a major bus operator in the United Kingdom based in Sunderland, England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva which runs transport services across Europe, which has been a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn since 2010. Arriva UK Bus operates ...

Ribble Motor Services Ribble Motor Services was a large regional bus operator in the North West England based in Preston. History Ribble Motor Services commenced operating in 1919, and grew to be the largest operator in the region, with a territory stretching ...

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 ...

West Lancashire West Lancashire is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. The council is based in Ormskirk, and the largest town in the borough is Skelmersdale. At the 2011 Census, the population of the borough was 110,68 ...

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

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 ...

Bee Line Buzz Company North Western Road Car CompanyCompanies House extract company no 5 ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

Cowie Group Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England.MTL Trust Holdings, which created a larger presence in the

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 ...

area and more than doubled the size of the company. In 2002, Arriva North West merged with

Arriva Buses Wales Arriva Buses Wales ( cy, Bysiau Arriva Cymru) is a bus operator providing services in northern Wales and Chester in northern England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus. History Crosville Motor Services was formed in 1919 and operated serv ...

to form

Arriva North West & Wales Arriva North West and Wales was a division of Arriva that operated bus services around North West England and Wales. It was made up from several previous bus operators including North Western (in Merseyside, Cheshire and Lancashire), most of ...

. Three former

Arriva Midlands Arriva Midlands is a bus operator providing services in the East Midlands and West Midlands areas of England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus. Arriva Midlands North Operations In September 1981 Midland Red North was formed with 230 bu ...

depots in

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 ...

,

Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...

and

Winsford Winsford is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the River Weaver south of Northwich and west of Middlewich. It grew around the salt mining industr ...

were transferred into the North West & Wales operation, although Crewe closed in December 2005. In July 2005 Arriva purchased

Blue Bus & Coach Services Blue Bus was a large independent bus company serving Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. History Blue Bus was formed in 1991 by former Shearings managers Roger Jarvis and Alan Turner. It was based at a former railway works in Horw ...

, which almost doubled their presence in Greater Manchester. In January 2009, the Wales operation was split from Arriva North West as

Arriva Buses Wales Arriva Buses Wales ( cy, Bysiau Arriva Cymru) is a bus operator providing services in northern Wales and Chester in northern England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus. History Crosville Motor Services was formed in 1919 and operated serv ...

with the Arriva North West name resurrected for the North West England operations. Although the company is officially known as Arriva North West, some operations were originally registered under alternative Arriva names. Former Bee Line operations were registered as Arriva Manchester, some Liverpool operations and, slightly confusingly, the former Blue Bus operations were registered as Arriva Liverpool. As of Autumn 2011 a large proportion of services in Merseyside remain registered under the separate Arriva Merseyside licence, all other services are registered under the Arriva North West licence.

Operating centres

The company has depots in: *

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

- Laird Street *

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

- Folds Road *

Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. Historically part of Lancashire, Bootle's ...

- Hawthorne Road *

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

( Stoneycroft) - Green Lane *

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

(

Speke Speke () is a suburb of Liverpool. It is southeast of the city centre. Located near the widest part of the River Mersey, it is bordered by the suburbs of Garston and Hunts Cross, and nearby to Halewood, Hale Village, and Widnes. The rural are ...

) - Shaw Road (sometimes referred to as Woodend Avenue) *

Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east ...

- Lyme Green - Gaw End Lane (now regarded as an outstation of

Winsford Winsford is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the River Weaver south of Northwich and west of Middlewich. It grew around the salt mining industr ...

) *

Runcorn Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port in the Borough of Halton in Cheshire, England. Its population in 2011 was 61,789. The town is in the southeast of the Liverpool City Region, with Liverpool to the northwest across the River Mersey. ...

- Beechwood Avenue * St Helens - Jackson Street *

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

- Canning Road *

Winsford Winsford is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the River Weaver south of Northwich and west of Middlewich. It grew around the salt mining industr ...

- Road Four, Winsford Industrial Estate *

Wythenshawe Wythenshawe () is a district of the city of Manchester, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Cheshire, Wythenshawe was transferred in 1931 to the City of Manchester, which had begun building a massive housing estate there in the ...

(

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

) - Greeba Road, Roundthorn Industrial Estate Past depots, now closed or sold, have included: *

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 ...

- Delamere Street (closed December 2005) *

Gillmoss Gillmoss is an area in north Liverpool, Merseyside, England, located between Croxteth, Fazakerley and Kirkby. Description Gillmoss is a predominantly industrial area with little residential housing although pockets exist around the East Lancashi ...

- East Lancashire Road (sold to

Glenvale Transport Glenvale Transport (GTL) was a bus company that operated services in Liverpool between July 2001 and July 2005. Overview In 2003, Glenvale transport controlled 30% of the Liverpool regional bus market. It was operating a fleet of 330 buse ...

in July 2001 in response to a

Competition Commission The Competition Commission was a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under competition law in the United Kingdom. It was a competition regulator under t ...

requirement) *

Huyton Huyton ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. Part of the Liverpool Urban Area, it borders the Liverpool suburbs of Dovecot, Knotty Ash and Belle Vale, and the neighbouring village of Roby, with which ...

- Wilson Road (closed 2006) *

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

- St Andrew's Square (near

Manchester Piccadilly station Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. Opened as Store Street in 1842, it was renamed Manchester London Road in 1847 and became Manchester Piccadilly in 1960. Located to the south-east of Manchester city ...

(closed March 2012) *

Skelmersdale Skelmersdale is a town in Lancashire, England, on the River Tawd, west of Wigan, northeast of Liverpool and southwest of Preston. In 2006, it had a population of 38,813. The town is known locally as Skem . While the first record of the tow ...

- Neverstitch Road (closed 23 July 2011) *

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

- Athlone Road (closed February 2002)

Fleet

As at April 2019, the fleet consists of approximately 798 active vehicles. A wide variety of makes and types are represented, although DAF and VDL chassis predominate, accounting for around 58% of the fleet, and over half of the fleet carries bodywork by Wrightbus. The fleet is about 54% single-deck and entirely low-floor. Arriva stated its intention to make its main routes serving Liverpool completely low-floor by 2008 and similarly for the whole of Merseyside by 2011.

Fleet summary

Double deck

On the double-deck side of the fleet, 51 Volvo B5LH hybrids with Wright Gemini 3 bodywork entered service at Green Lane and

Speke Speke () is a suburb of Liverpool. It is southeast of the city centre. Located near the widest part of the River Mersey, it is bordered by the suburbs of Garston and Hunts Cross, and nearby to Halewood, Hale Village, and Widnes. The rural are ...

depots in early 2017, after initial use on rail replacement services. Other recent deliveries include 128 Alexander Dennis Enviro400s which entered service at

Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. Historically part of Lancashire, Bootle's ...

, Green Lane, Speke, St Helens and

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

depots in between mid 2014 and mid 2015. With 152 examples overall, the Enviro400 is the most common double deck type in the fleet. Other deliveries include 44 Volvo B5LH hybrids with Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodywork, which were the first hybrid double deckers in the fleet, entered service at

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

and

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

depots in spring 2013, with eleven delivered to Bolton and 33 delivered to Birkenhead for "CrossRiver" branded services, although the batch new to Bolton have since moved to the Birkenhead and Speke depots. A total of 47 brand new VDL DB300s with

Wright Gemini 2 The Wright Gemini 2 is a double-decker bus built by Wrightbus between 2009 and 2013. It was announced in December 2007 but was not named until 2008. It was constructed as a semi-integral vehicle, with chassis modules provided by VDL. The bodywo ...

bodywork were delivered to Speke and

Winsford Winsford is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the River Weaver south of Northwich and west of Middlewich. It grew around the salt mining industr ...

depots towards the end of 2011 and early 2012, with the bulk of the order, 44 buses, going to Speke depot. Prior to this, 35 Alexander Dennis Enviro400s entered service in 2009, mainly displacing Volvo Olympians. 23 of the Enviro400s were allocated to Birkenhead for services through the

Mersey Tunnels The Mersey Tunnels connect the city of Liverpool with Wirral, under the River Mersey. There are three tunnels: the Mersey Railway Tunnel (opened 1886), and two road tunnels, the Queensway Tunnel (opened 1934) and the Kingsway Tunnel (opened 1 ...

, these being the first vehicles in the fleet to carry the "Interurban" livery, apart from a solitary demonstrator. The other twelve were for services between Bootle and Aigburth Vale. Previously, 30 Volvo B7TLs with

Alexander ALX400 The Alexander ALX400 (later known as the TransBus ALX400 and the Alexander Dennis ALX400) was a 2-axle double-decker bus body built by Walter Alexander Coachbuilders (later by TransBus International/Alexander Dennis). It was one of the ALX-seri ...

bodywork had entered service on routes between Liverpool and Garston in 2006, marking the end of a 7½ year hiatus of new double-deckers. Between 2011 and 2013, the double deck fleet was updated with the arrival of 25

DAF DB250 The VDL DB250 (originally the DAF DB250) was a twin-axle double-decker bus chassis manufactured by VDL Bus & Coach. DB250 The DAF DB250 was launched in October 1991 and originally only available with Optare Spectra bodywork with 260 built, mai ...

s with

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 manu ...

bodywork and seventeen Volvo B7TLs with

Wrightbus Wrightbus is a Northern Ireland based bus manufacturer and a pioneer of the low-floor bus. The company was established in 1946 by Robert Wright and was later run by his son William Wright, until it was acquired in 2019 by British businessman ...

bodywork from

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 ...

, replacing

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

-bodied DAF DB250s, which were also ex-London buses. In 2017, a batch of eleven Wrightbus-bodied Volvo B5LH hybrids transferred to Arriva North West from

Arriva Southern Counties Arriva Southern CountiesCompanies House extract company no 20314 ...

, with eleven VDL DB300s transferring to

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

in exchange.

Single deck

The standard single deck vehicle in the fleet is the

VDL SB200 The VDL SB200 (originally the DAF SB200) was a light-weight 12m low floor single decker bus chassis produced from 2001 by VDL Bus & Coach (formerly DAF Bus International). It superseded the SB220. It is originally designed for use by Arriva (VD ...

with

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

, Pulsar and Pulsar 2 bodywork; between them, these types now make up nearly two thirds (59%) of the single deck fleet. The second most prominent single deck type is the

VDL SB120 VDL may refer to: * Vancouver Dodgeball League * Van Diemen's Land, the former name of the smallest Australian state of Tasmania * Van Diemen's Land Company in Tasmania * VDL Groep, Dutch manufacturing company * VDL (radio), a name used by two ...

with

Plaxton Centro The Plaxton Centro was a Low-entry bus, low entry single-decker bus bodywork designed by Bluebird Vehicles and manufactured by Plaxton.Wright Cadet The Wright Cadet was a low floor midibus body built on the DAF/VDL SB120 chassis by Wrightbus between 2000 and 2006. It was sold via VDL dealer Arriva Bus & Coach. Of the 681 produced, 366 were for Arriva subsidiaries including eight for its N ...

bodywork. Another type in the fleet is the

Wright Wright is an occupational surname originating in England. The term 'Wright' comes from the circa 700 AD Old English word 'wryhta' or 'wyrhta', meaning worker or shaper of wood. Later it became any occupational worker (for example, a shipwright i ...

-bodied

Volvo B10BLE The Volvo B10BLE was a rear-engined low-entry single-decker bus chassis manufactured by Volvo in Sweden between 1993 and 2004. The first prototypes were built in 1992, but mass production started in 1993, only a year after the high-floor B10B. I ...

, with two still in service in late 2017. The

Dennis Dart The Dennis Dart is a rear-engined single-decker midibus chassis that was introduced by Dennis Specialist Vehicles of Guildford, England in 1989, replacing the Dennis Domino. Initially built as a high-floor design, In 1996 the low-floor seco ...

, which once made up a significant part of the fleet, is no longer in use with Arriva North West, with the last example being withdrawn in 2017. Other new single deck deliveries since 2007 were ten

Alexander Dennis Enviro300 The Alexander Dennis Enviro300 (previously known as the TransBus Enviro300) is a light-weight full-size single-decker bus that was built by Alexander Dennis and its predecessor TransBus International between 2001 and 2015. The design was the first ...

s for Wythenshawe depot, four

Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Dart The Alexander Dennis Enviro200 (previously known as the TransBus Enviro200) is a midibus that was manufactured by TransBus International and later Alexander Dennis between 2003 and 2018. The original TransBus Enviro200 design was innovative but ...

s for the Southport Park and Ride routes, fifteen "classic"

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, 26 Optare Solo SRs, 24

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is a light commercial vehicle (van) built by Mercedes-Benz Group AG of Stuttgart, Germany as a large van, chassis cab, minibus, and pickup truck. In the past, the Sprinter had been sold under the Mercedes-Benz, Dod ...

minibuses, nineteen MAN EcoCity gas powered buses, twelve BYD D9UR battery powered buses and six integral Wright StreetLite Maxes.

Unusual vehicles

Unusual vehicles in the fleet included four MAN 14.220s with East Lancs Myllennium bodywork which were based at Bolton depot. Until October 2008, twelve

Neoplan N4016 The Neoplan N4016 was a Low-floor bus, low-floor single-decker bus built by Neoplan between 1988 and 1999, initially at Stuttgart in Germany and later also in Poland. It is the larger version of the Neoplan N4009 midibus. The N4016 is remembered ...

were operating on service 18A from Liverpool to

Croxteth Park Croxteth Hall is a country estate and Grade II* listed building in the West Derby suburb of Liverpool, England. It is the former country estate and ancestral home of the Molyneux family, the Earls of Sefton. After the death of the sevent ...

, and were the only vehicles of their type in Britain, as were a batch of three Neoplan N4009s, which were latterly based at Bootle depot. Until early 2016, a batch of three Ikarus Polaris bodied DAF SB220s were operated on services in and around Bolton. These were the remaining examples out of seven that were acquired with the Blue Bus fleet, which accounted for a majority of those which were imported into the United Kingdom. In 2011, Speke depot received a total of ten

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 ...

articulated bus An articulated bus, also referred to as a banana bus, bendy bus, tandem bus, vestibule bus, wiggle wagon, stretch bus, or an accordion bus, (either a motor bus or trolleybus) is an articulated vehicle used in public transportation. It is usua ...

es from

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 ...

. Two branded vehicles arrived for use on the AirLink 501 route in June 2011, and from September 2011, a further eight standard livery examples found use on service 699 between the University of Liverpool and

Carnatic Halls Carnatic most often refers to: *Carnatic region, Southern India *Carnatic music, the classical music of Southern India Carnatic may also refer to: *Carnatic Wars, a series of military conflicts in India during the 18th century *, a ''Bangor''-class ...

. In November 2011, articulated vehicles were first used on the AirLink 500 route between Liverpool city centre and Liverpool John Lennon Airport. These vehicles left the fleet in 2014. In November 2017, a batch of twelve

Alexander Dennis Enviro200 The Alexander Dennis Enviro200 (previously known as the TransBus Enviro200) is a midibus that was manufactured by TransBus International and later Alexander Dennis between 2003 and 2018. The original TransBus Enviro200 design was innovative but ...

bodied BYD D9UR battery powered buses entered service at Green Lane depot, being the first fully electric powered vehicles to be operated by Arriva North West. Operated on services 26 and 27, they were also the first batch of Alexander Dennis bodied BYD D9URs to be delivered to operator in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

outside London.

References

External links

Arriva North West website
{{Transport in Greater Manchester

North West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

Transport in Cheshire Bus operators in Greater Manchester Transport in Liverpool Transport in Manchester Bus operators in Cheshire Bus operators in Merseyside

History

Operating centres

Fleet

Fleet summary

Double deck

Single deck

Unusual vehicles

See also

References

External links