Arriva’s 2015 orders

Arriva UK Bus is investing £45m in new buses over the next 12 months. The operator is implementing a three stage roll out of over 230 new carbon efficient vehicles, which are expected to improve service provision across both new and existing routes nationwide. It is investing in: 165 ADL Enviro400s, 11 ADL Enviro200s, 12 Wrightbus 10.8m StreetLite Midi Hybrids, 34 Wrightbus 11.5m StreetLite Max Hybrids, four Wrightbus 8.8m StreetLite Micro Hybrids and six Optare 8.8m Solos.

The first wave of investment will see 62 ADL Enviro400s go into service across the north west. Each will be fitted to Arriva’s standard spec with e-Leather seating, CCTV and free Wi-Fi. They are intended to reinforce capacity on key city routes, whilst also freeing up the one and two year old single deckers for refurbishment and redeployment elsewhere in its Midlands, south east and north east operations. A further 47 Enviro400’s will enter service in the north west in the latter half of the year. The following stage, due to launch in the autumn, will see six premium Sapphire and two inter-urban express MAX routes bolstered by the introduction of a further 56 Enviro400s.

A further 28 buses, built to Sapphire’s exacting specification, including e-leather seating, power points and extra leg room, are on route for use on Durham’s route6 and in Northfleet. These will be Wrightbus StreetLite Maxs with Cummins Euro5 engines and Wrightbus’ Micro Hybrid Technology. The remainder of the investment will include the addition of 12 Wrightbus Hybrid StreetLite Midi vehicles for use in the Southern Counties. The Wrexham, Rhyl and Luton depots will then receive a fleet of ADL Enviro200s, which utilise a new automated manual transmission (AMT) designed to cut fuel consumption and emissions by around 13%.