 | |
| Company type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Arriva | |
| Industry | Transport |
| Founded | 24 October 1938; 86 years ago (1938-10-24) |
| Founder | TSK Cowie |
| Headquarters | Sunderland, England |
Area served | Europe |
Key people | Mike Cooper (CEO) |
| Services | Bus, ferry and rail services |
| Revenue | €5.35 billion (December 2017) |
| €569 million (December 2017) | |
| Owner | I Squared Capital |
Number of employees | 35,500 (November 2023) |
| Divisions |
|
| Subsidiaries | List of subsidiaries |
| Website | arrivagroup.com |
Arriva Ltd. is a Britishmultinationalpublic transport company headquartered inSunderland, England.[1]
The company was originally established on 24 October 1938 asT Cowie Ltd. Initially focused on the sale ofmotorcycles, it relaunched shortly after theSecond World War byTom Cowie. During December 1964, the company wasfloated, it acquired its first car dealership months later. In 1972, the company established Cowie Contract Hire, a successful contract hire business. T. Cowie entered into bus operations via the purchase of theLondon-basedGrey-Green operator in 1980. During 1984, it acquired the Hanger Group along with thevehicle leasing business Interleasing. In April 1994, the company was renamed Cowie Group. Months later, Cowie Group acquired theLeaside Buses andSouth London Transport business units amid the widerprivatisation of London bus services. During 1997, it also bought theDenmark-based operator Unibus, becoming its first venture based outside the United Kingdom.
During November 1997, the company was rebranded as Arriva. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, it disposed of its vehicle-hire and motor-retailing businesses. In February 2000, Arriva purchasedMTL Holdings, which included its first UK rail franchises,Merseyrail Electrics andNorthern Spirit. In April 2008, theLNWR train maintenance business was acquired. Arriva became a subsidiary ofDeutsche Bahn in August 2010. Arriva operates bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus services in 10 countries across Europe. As of November 2023, it employed 35,500 people and operated 1.5 billion passenger journeys annually.[2] It operates as three divisions:UK Bus,UK Rail and Mainland Europe.[3] Deutsche Bahn announced in 2019 that it wished to sell Arriva, but such a sale was placed on hold as of November in that year. During the early 2020s, several of Arriva's continental European operations have been sold on. In October 2023, Deutsche Bahn agreed terms to sell Arriva toI Squared Capital with the transaction completed in June 2024.
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The company was founded by TSK Cowie inSunderland in 1938. It was initially active as a second-hand motorcycle dealer and traded under the name T. Cowie Limited.[4] During 1948, the business was re-launched byTom Cowie, the founder's son, still selling motorcycles.[5] T Cowie plc was floated in December 1964, and in 1965 it bought out the first of many car dealerships.[6]
In 1972, it formed Cowie Contract Hire, which became the largest contract hire business in the UK.[5] During 1980, T. Cowie made its first foray into bus operations, buying theGrey-Green operation in London from the George Ewer Group.[4][7] In 1984, T. Cowie p.l.c. acquired the Hanger Group, which included Interleasing, a largevehicle leasing business.[5][8] Further leasing companies acquired were Marley Leasing,[9] RoyScot Drive[10] and Ringway Leasing.[7] Following the retirement of Tom Cowie, the company was renamed Cowie Group plc during April 1994.[11]
As part of theprivatisation of London bus services, Cowie Group acquired theLeaside Buses andSouth London Transport business units in September 1994 and January 1995 respectively.[12] Cowie Group also boughtUnited Automobile Services andBritish Bus in July and August 1996, both of which had acquired a number of privatised bus companies.[4][13] 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.[14]
In November 1997, the company was rebranded as Arriva p.lc.[4] That same year, it also bought Unibus in Denmark, its first venture outside the United Kingdom.[4]
During June 1999, Arriva sold its vehicle-hire business toGeneral Motors.[8][15] In February 2000, Arriva purchasedMTL Holdings, which included its first UK rail franchises,Merseyrail Electrics andNorthern Spirit.[4][16][17] Between 2002 and 2003, Arriva sold its motor-retailing businesses,[18] furthermore, in February 2006, it also disposed of its vehicle-rental business toNorthgate.[19] During April 2008, theLNWR train maintenance business in England was acquired.[20]
In 2010, it was reported that the government-owned railway companies of France (SNCF) and Germany (Deutsche Bahn) were considering making takeover bids for the business.[21][22] SNCF subsidiaryKeolis and Arriva entered discussions regarding a merger,[23] however, in April 2010, Deutsche Bahn made a takeover offer for Arriva valued at £7.75 per share (£1.585 billion).[24][25] During August 2010, Deutsche Bahn's takeover bid was approved by theEuropean Commission, albeit conditional on the disposal of someArriva services in Germany.[26] The takeover took effect on 27 August 2010,[27][28] and Arriva was delisted from theLondon Stock Exchange on 31 August 2010.[29]
In late 2011, Arriva acquiredGrand Central[30][31] and sold itsArriva Scotland West bus operation.[32][33] In May 2013, Arriva purchasedVeolia Transport's Central European business with 3,400 vehicles.[34][35][36] Arriva changed its logo in January 2018.[37]
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;[38] however, by mid-November, the sale had been reportedly placed on hold.[39] In early 2023, reports again alleged that parent company Deutsche Bahn was considering options for spinning out Arriva to concentrate on its core German rail operations.[40] During the following months, various portions of Arriva's operations on continental Europe have been sold to other companies, these disposals have largely focused on bus operations.[41][42] In October 2023, Deutsche Bahn agreed terms to sell Arriva toI Squared Capital.[43][44] The sale was completed in June 2024.[45]
In May 2013, Arriva entered the Croatian bus market with the purchase of Panturist Veolia Osijek (Veolia Transport Central Europe) with 120 buses.[35][46] In August 2017 Arriva took a 78.34% share in Autotrans Group (ATG); via this move, it became the number one private bus operator active in Croatia.[47]
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).[citation needed]
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. The formerAbellio 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.[citation needed]
In December 2006, Arriva purchased Transcentrum Bus, operating services inMladá Boleslav District of theCentral Bohemian Region, north east ofPrague. In January 2007, Arriva acquired Bosák Bus, which operates to the south west ofPrague and thePříbram District of the Central Bohemian Region.[48][49] In November 2007, Arriva acquired Osnado, which operates bus and coach services in the north ofHradec Králové Region in East Bohemia, in the foothills of theGiant 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.[citation needed]
In July 2013, [Veolia Transport] Česká 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 inTeplice (Arriva Teplice) and trains in Desná Railway (Arriva Morava).[50]
During December 2013,Abellio's Probo Bus and PT Real operations were purchased with 110 buses.[51][52] As at November 2016, Arriva operated 1,960 buses in the Czech Republic.[53]
German rail transport companyVogtlandbahn, owned by Arriva since 2004, operated several train routes in the Czech Republic as a subcontractor ofČeské dráhy (München – Regensburg – Hof – Plzeň – Praha, line VB2 Zwickau – Plauen – Bad Brambach – Františkovy Lázně – Cheb – Mariánské Lázně, line VB8 Marktredwitz – Schirnding – Cheb) andGW Train Regio, 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 railwaysFerrovie dello Stato together with Luxembourg infrastructure fund Cube.[citation needed]
Between September 2013 and December 2013, Arriva vlaky tried operating a commercial service fromPraha Masarykovo nádraží toKralupy nad Vltavou in competition with subsidised lines of České dráhy.[54] The company did not succeed with its effort to gain a subsidy for it to continue.[55]
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.[53] In March 2016, Arriva introduced a weekly service from Praha toTrenčín in Slovakia and daily service from Praha toBenešov. It has applied to increase this to twice daily from December 2016.[56]
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In September 1997, Arriva purchasedUnibus.[57] During March 1999, Arriva Denmark expanded with the acquisition ofBus Danmark.[57] In April 2001, Arriva acquired Denmark's largest bus operator,Combus, along with its 1,200 vehicles.[57][58] In August 2004, Arriva purchasedWulff, which operated buses inJutland andCopenhagen.[59] In 2007, Arriva acquiredVeolia Denmark, then Denmark's second largest bus operator with 640 buses.[57][60] Arriva operates 50% of bus services in Copenhagen and 40% throughout Denmark.[57]
In mid-2002, Arriva began to operate services on theVarde toNørre Nebel line.[61] In March 2012, Arriva was awarded an extension to this franchise through to June 2018.[62][63]
During 2003, Arriva began operating an eight-year contract to operate services in midJutland. In March 2009, Arriva was awarded an extension through to December 2018.[64] At one point, Arriva operated 17% of all services on the Danish rail network.[57]
In 2000, Arriva began operating waterbuses inCopenhagen's harbour.
In May 2023 Arriva Denmark was sold to the German investment fundMutares. In December 2023 Arriva Denmark announced that they would rebrand as GoCollective during the course of 2024.[65]
In April 2008, Arriva purchased an 80% shareholding in Eurobus Invest, Hungary's largest private bus operator, which operates services in Hungary and Slovakia.[66] In 2009, Arriva purchased the remaining 20%.[67] Arriva is in ajoint venture with Videoton Holding operating as VT Transman.
During May 2013, VT Transman began operating two bus contracts inBudapest for eight years;[68][69] this arrangement saw 150Mercedes-Benz Citaros added to the company's 225-strong bus fleet. The joint venture now operates under the VT-Arriva brand.[citation needed]
In July 2002, Arriva purchasedSAB Autoservizi andSAF – Società Autoservizi Friuli-Venezia Giulia operating inLombardy,Liguria andFriuli-Venezia Giulia regions of northern Italy.[70]
During May 2004, Arriva expanded into the Udine area of theFriuli-Venezia Giulia region via the purchase of 49% of 500 bus SAF;[71] it exercised an option in December 2005 to increase its stake to 60%.[72] In October 2005, Arriva began operating in thePiemonte andValle d'Aosta regions ofnorthern Italy with an 80% shareholding in SADEM, increased to 100% in 2008. During 2006, Arriva purchased a 35% share in Trieste Trasporti, which increased to 40% in 2007.[70]
In June 2007, Arriva entered a joint venture withFerrovie Nord Milano to purchase 49% of 317 bus SPT Linea, which was then renamedASF Autolinee. This company manages local public transport in the city ofComo.[70][73][74]
During 2008, it took control ofBrescia-basedSAIA Transporti.[70]
In January 1998, Arriva purchasedVancom Nederland, it was followed byVeonn & Hanze in December 1998.[75][76]
During June 1999, it formed a joint venture withNederlandse Spoorwegen to operate bus services inFriesland; four years later, Arriva took full ownership, after which it was renamedArriva Openbaar Vervoer.[75]
In 2003, Arriva won further work inDrenthe andProvince of Groningen. It was awarded further contracts in 2005 in Drenthe andWaterland and later in theDrechtsteden,Alblasserwaard, Rivierenland,Meierij, Oost-Brabant, andVijfheerenlanden areas. During 2009, Arriva lost the contracts in Drenthe and Groningen upon retendering yet, in 2010, won a contract inAchterhoek and retained the Rivierenland contract. From December 2012, Arriva won the contract forSouth Holland North, aroundLeiden,Alphen aan den Rijn andGouda and inFriesland aroundLeeuwarden.[75][77][78][79]
During December 2016, it acquired most ofLimburg's bus and train systems.[80]
| Name | From | Until |
|---|---|---|
| Rivierenland | 1 Jan 3 | 11 Dec 10 |
| Waterland | 11 Dec 5 | 10 Dec 11 |
| Drechtsteden/Alblasserwaard/Vijfheerenlanden | 1 Jan 7 | 31 Dec 18 |
| Hoeksche Waard/Goeree-Overflakkee | 1 Jan 8 | 15 Dec 14 |
| Meierij | 10 Dec 6 | 9 Dec 14 |
| Oost-Brabant | 10 Dec 6 | 9 Dec 14 |
| Ameland | 1 Mar 9 | 31 Dec 15 |
| Schiermonnikoog | 1 Mar 9 | 31 Dec 15 |
| Terschelling | 1 Mar 9 | 31 Dec 15 |
| Vlieland | 1 Mar 9 | 31 Dec 15 |
| Achterhoek/Rivierenland | 12 Dec 10 | 1 Jan 21 |
| Lelystad/Flevoland | 4 Sep 11 | 4 Sep 21 |
| North and SouthwestFriesland | 9 Dec 12 | 12 Dec 20 |
| South Holland Noord | 9 Dec 12 | 12 Dec 20 |
| Limburg | 11 Dec 16 | 12 Dec 31 |
During 1999, Arriva establishedNoordNed as a joint venture company with the Dutch state-owned passenger rail companyNederlandse Spoorwegen.[75] In 2003, the company took full ownership of the former joint venture,[75] opting to drop the NoordNed branding two years later. During 2005, Arriva was awarded a 15-year contract to operate trains fromGroningen toLeeuwarden,Delfzijl,Roodeschool andNieuweschans. It also secured a contract to operate trains from Leeuwarden toHarlingen Haven and toStavoren. Later that year, it secured a contract to operate trains fromDordrecht toGorinchem and on toGeldermalsen (MerwedeLingelijn).[75] In 2012, Arriva commenced operating trains in the Achterhoek and betweenZwolle andEmmen; these services operate under theSpurt brand.
On 21 June 2013, Arriva was selected to operate a new service betweenThe Hague andBrussels.[81][82] 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, which made the new Arriva service unnecessary.[83][84]
During December 2016, Arriva acquired the majority ofLimburg's bus and train systems.[80]
In June 2024,[85] a train of Arriva has been extended fromMaastricht toLiège-Guillemins in cooperation with theNational Railway Company of Belgium to replace the existing service there. The resultingThree Countries Train runs from Liège-Guillemins toAachen Hbf.[86]
| Name | From | Until |
|---|---|---|
| Groningen/Friesland | 11 Dec 5 13 Dec 20 | 12 Dec 20 15 Dec 35 |
| Merwede-Lingelijn | 1 Jan 7 | 31 Dec 18 |
| North and SouthwestFriesland | 9 Dec 12 | 11 Dec 27 |
| Gelderland/Achterhoek | 9 Dec 12 | 1 Jan 21 |
| Zwolle-Emmen | 9 Dec 12 | 1 Jan 21 |
| Limburg | 11 Dec 16 | 12 Dec 31 |
TheProvince 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.[87][88]Abellio 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.[89][90] Another tenderer,Veolia, announced they will object to the decision of the province.[91][92]
During May 2013, Arriva entered the Polish bus market through its acquisition ofVeolia Transport Central Europe along with its 840 buses.[34][35][36] However, during the summer of 2023, the company divested its bus activities in Polish market.[41][42]
During December 2006, Arriva formedArriva PCC, a joint venture withPCC Rail in December 2006.[93][94] In December 2007, Arriva commenced operating services on all non-electrified lines in theKuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship.[95] In June 2010, Arriva took 100% ownership of the business and renamed it Arriva RP.[96] During December 2010, Arriva RP was awarded a ten-year extension to its Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship activities.[97][98]
In December 2013, Arriva started operating trains on four electrified lines in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodship using 12 existing trains to serve roughly 50 railway stations for an initial period of two years.[99][100] In September 2017, it was announced that Arriva RP had secured severalopen access paths in Poland.[101] During October 2022, Arriva RP signed a new contract, valued at €157.5 million per year, covering the extension of its operations in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship region for a further eight years, up until 2030.[102][103]
In November 2000, Arriva purchasedJoão Carlos Soares e Filhos,Viação Costa & Lino Lda,Ami-Transportes andAbílio da Costa Moreira & C Lda who were running inter-urban local bus services in the north west of Portugal.[76][104]
During June 2002, Arriva bought a 51% shareholding Transportes Sul do Tejo, a scheduled bus and coach operator in the growing commuter region south ofLisbon.[105] In September 2003, Arriva exercised an option to buy the remainder of the company.[104] In May 2006, Arriva acquired a 21.5% share of leading transport companyBarraqueiro, with bus and rail operations in and around Lisbon, increasing the shareholding in January 2008 to 31.5%.[104]
In December 2021, Arriva Portugal announced the closure of its operation by the end of the year.[106]
In May 2013, Arriva entered the Serbian bus market with the purchase ofVeolia Transport Central Europe (Veolia Transport Litas inPožarevac and Veolia Transport Luv inBelgrade) with 250 buses.[35][46] In January 2015, Arriva commenced operating bus services inNiš with 33 buses.[107] In 2023, Arriva was rebranded as Mobilitas.[108]
In July 2008, Arriva entered the Slovak bus market with the purchase of an 80% share in Eurobus Invest,[66][109][110] getting control over the SAD Nové Zámky[111] and SAD Michalovce[112] bus companies. In July 2015, it purchased SAD Liorbus and SAD Trnava.[113] Coach services are operated under the Arriva Express brand.[114] By November 2016, Arriva was employing 2,390 people and operated 1,335 buses.[115]In the meantime, Arriva also bought the bus company Veolia transport Nitra.[116]
During 2021, Arriva was awarded a ten-year contract to operate IDS BK regional buses inBratislava Region via its subsidiary Arriva Mobility Services s.r.o.[117]
In May 2013, Arriva entered the Slovenian bus market with the purchase ofVeolia Transport Central Europe (Veolia TransportŠtajerska, Veolia TransportDolenjska andPrimorska) with 270 buses.[35][46]
In July 1998, Arriva purchasedIdeal Auto Sociedad Anónima (IASA) followed in September 1999 byTransportes Finisterre, both inGalicia.[76] Their services cover three of the four provinces in the region:A Coruña,Lugo andOurense, including part of the famousSantiago pilgrimage route. In January 2002, Arriva commenced operating inMallorca with the purchase ofAutocares Mallorca andBus Nord.[118] These operate on the northern and western parts of the island, linking the capitalPalma with towns such asSoller,Inca andAlcúdia.
During 2007, Arriva acquiredAutocares Fray Escoba andEsfera inMadrid. In July 2008, Arriva acquiredEmpresa de Blas y Cia, which operates routes between Madrid and southwestern cities in its metropolitan area (Alcorcón,Móstoles,Villaviciosa de Odón,Navalcarnero...), and between those cities.[118]
Arriva operates 5,900 buses in London, the north east, north west and south east of England, Yorkshire, the Midlands, Wales and previously Scotland.
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 theCare Quality Commission in 2014 said that patients were "often" arriving late for appointments, and taxi drivers with "poor attitudes" being used when other resources were unavailable.[119]
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 £1.5m bonus. Arriva had been the subject of many complaints about its service. Comparisons were drawn with misreporting in theUK Serco scandal and MPs said theSerious Fraud Office may need to be involved.[120]
Arriva has operated a number ofrail franchises in the UK since theprivatisation ofBritish Rail in 1996, through its subsidiary,Arriva UK Trains. It gained its first franchises in February 2000. Arriva UK Trains currently runs a number oftrain operating companies:
Arriva TrainCare (previously LNWR) operates train maintenance depots atBristol,Cambridge,Crewe,Eastleigh andNewcastle.[122]
Following the purchase of Arriva by Deutsche Bahn in August 2010, Arriva UK Trains expanded to take over Deutsche Bahn's existingDB Regio UK division which consisted ofChiltern Railways,Tyne & Wear Metro andLondon Overground Rail Operations.
Arriva UK Trains wishes to expand the number of UK Rail businesses it operates by developing open access operations and successfully bidding for furtherDepartment for Transport rail franchises.[123]Alliance Rail Holdings continues to develop new open access proposals following the rejection of its initial plans by the Office of Rail Regulation in 2011.[124]
Between 2011 and 2012, Arriva's applications to bid for theInterCity West Coast,Greater Anglia,Essex Thameside andThameslink franchises were all rejected by theDepartment for Transport. Following this run of failure Arriva was publicly critical of the government's prequalification process and called for it to be abolished.[123] However, Arriva was subsequently shortlisted for theGreater Western,Crossrail,Caledonian Sleeper andScotRail franchises.[125]
In February 2005, Arriva purchased Sippel, a bus operator in the Rhine Main.[126] In May 2006 Verkehrsbetriebe Bils was purchased followed in December 2006 by 80% of NeiBeverkehr.[127]
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.[126] In 2007, Arriva purchased an 85% shareholding in Osthannoversche Eisenbahnen.[127]
As part of the takeover of Arriva byDeutsche Bahn, Arriva's German railway operations were sold toFerrovie dello Stato to comply with aEuropean Commission condition.[26][128][129] These are now branded asNetinera.
In July 2011, Arriva commenced operating a ten-year concession to operate all scheduled bus services onMalta andGozo.[130] Arriva held a 67% shareholding with the localTumas Group owning the remaining 33%.[131]
The main fleet of Arriva Malta was formed of 172 newKing Long buses.[132][133] These were supported on high-density routes by 68 formerArriva LondonMercedes-Benz O530G Citaro articulated buses. Ten hybridOptare Solos and twoBluebird mini-buses for use in the city ofValletta were also purchased.[134] 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 andSaracakis 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.[135]
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.[136] The fires destroyed the buses and in one case caused extensive damage to some nearby vehicles belonging toMaltaPost, 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.[137]
By the end of December 2013, Arriva had reportedly run up losses of €50 million in two and a half years.[138]
On 1 January 2014, Arriva ceased operations in Malta, with the services nationalised by the Maltese government asMalta Public Transport.[139][140] Upon being tendered, the services were taken over byALSA.[141]
Arriva operated in Sweden until 2022, when it sold its Swedish operations to the Finnish state-ownedVR Group, and was rebranded asVR Sverige.
Arriva operated bus lines in southern Sweden/The Skåne Region from 1997 when it purchasedUnibus of Denmark.[142]
Arriva operated bus lines in certain municipalities in theStockholm County:Sigtuna Municipality,Upplands Väsby Municipality andVallentuna Municipality from 1 March 2009 until 21 June 2019. InEkerö Municipality, traffic started on 1 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 who came on second place andTransdev who came on third place.[143] In August 2012, Arriva began operation in western Stockholm with 255 buses under a 12-year contract with the regional transport authority.[144][145] In January 2013 a further 229 buses were added.[146][147]When Arriva took over theRoslagen Light Rail and bus traffic in theRoslagen area of Stockholm, there was total chaos. Arriva's failure to follow the contract resulted in a fine of 174 millionkronor.[148]
Arriva operated services in the Halland Region from June 2010, partly taking over services from Swebus.[149] In July 2022, Arriva sold all of its Swedish bus operations toVR Group with 800 buses.[150][151][152]
In June 2007, Arriva won a nine-year franchise for thePågatåg regional rail services inSkåne County, south Sweden.[95]
During 2009, Arriva expanded its rail operations in the country with a new contract operating theKinnekulletåget [sv] between Göteborg and Örebro.[142]In December 2010,DB Regio Sverige AB started to operate regional trains inÖstgötapendeln. In November 2011, the company was renamedArriva Östgötapendeln AB.
From August 2012, Arriva has operated the Stockholmlight rail systemsTvärbanan light rail,Nockebybanan light rail,Lidingöbanan light rail, andSaltsjöbanan railway.[144] In January 2013, Arriva commenced operating theRoslagsbanan railway in the north ofStockholm.[146] In July 2022, Arriva sold all of its Swedish rail operations to the Finnish state-ownedVR Group with 238 trains.[150][152][153]
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 asArriva Derby,Arriva Fox County 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 asArriva Trains Northern andArriva Trains Wales. The same livery was applied to theArriva London fleet albeit with red in lieu of aquamarine to comply with aTransport 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 theArriva Southern Counties Gillingham garage for routes 700/701 between Medway Towns andBluewater. 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 itsMark 2 carriages, this has since been adopted as its standard livery.
Exceptions to standard livery include:
Arriva has introduced theSapphire brand for premium services in the UK, in similar fashion toStagecoach Gold with buses fitted with leather seats andWiFi.[159][160]
Arriva Bus & Coach was a bus and coach dealership based inGomersal, England.[161] Established in 1951 as Stanley Hughes, it was purchased by the Paul Sykes Group in 1982 and the Cowie Group in 1988.[162][163][164] It sold primarilyPlaxton bodied coaches, and was aDAF dealer.[165] Hughes DAF was rebranded to Arriva Bus & Coach in 1998 and is now the main dealer forTemsa andVan Hool.[166] coaches in the UK as well as more recently Ilesbus.[167]
In June 2020, it was announced the company would restructure to significantly downsize.[164] During January 2021, it was announced Arriva Bus & Coach would close on 31 March 2021.[166][168]
Media related toArriva Group companies at Wikimedia Commons
