Arriva North East operates both local and regional bus services in

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four co ...

and

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcas ...

, England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus, which operates bus and coach services across 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 ...

History

In 1986, as part of the privatisation of the National Bus Company,

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 ...

was split in two. Operations north of the

River Tyne The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is . It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Wat ...

were sold 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 Proudmutual, with the company becoming Northumbria Motor Services. In 1994, it was then sold to

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 ...

. Operations in

and

were sold to Caldaire Holdings in a management buyout. In September 1992, the company was subsequently sold to Westcourt Bus Group, followed by National Express. In 1995, West Auckland-based Eden Bus Company was purchased by North East Bus. The depot was subsequently closed, with operations being moved to Bishop Auckland depot. The name was later purchased by Graeme Scarlett, who now operates a small fleet in and around Bishop Auckland, with vehicles branded in a red and ivory livery. Following the

Cowie Group Arriva plc is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England. Operations in the region were subsequently integrated, with common fleet numbering and management. In March 2006, Go North East announced the withdrawal of services in Bishop Auckland, with remaining services transferred to their

Chester-le-Street Chester-le-Street (), also known as Chester, is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England, around north of Durham and also close to Sunderland and Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located on the River Wear, which runs out to sea ...

depot. Operations, which had previously been taken over from OK Travel by Go-Ahead Northern in March 1995, were transferred to Arriva. The former depot has since been demolished. In the same month,

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

depot was closed, with staff and operations transferred to Darlington. Most North Yorkshire County Council-supported services, along with some of the depot's former staff, were taken on by Dales & District. In May 2007, it was announced that the company would take over

Stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are dra ...

's operations in Darlington, pending approval by the Office of Fair Trading. Following the takeover, services, as well as 28 vehicles and 78 drivers (with no changes to pay or conditions) were transferred, with vehicles subsequently repainted. In March 2008, operations moved to a new depot at Faverdale Industrial Estate, Darlington. The Loftus depot was closed in January 2009, after over 80 years of continuous operation, with the subsequent loss of 20 jobs. Operations, along with in the region of 60 staff, were transferred between Redcar,

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees, often simply referred to as Stockton, is a market town in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England. It is on the northern banks of the River Tees, part of the Teesside built-up area. The town had an estimat ...

and

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Cl ...

depots. In March 2010, Go North East's Ashington depot was exchanged with Arriva's Hexham depot. In December 2012, Durham's Waddington Street depot was closed, following the completion of the new Belmont depot, (despite being only one minute away from

Durham Bus Station Durham bus station served the city of Durham, in County Durham, England. The bus station is managed by Durham County Council. This bus station is situated on North Road in the city centre. It is currently closed and is in the process of being ...

). By July 2013, the former depot had been demolished, with the site being redeveloped for residential use. In March 2013, a fleet of 11 gas-powered MAN Ecocity were introduced on services 2, 11 and 12 in Darlington – an investment totalling £2.2 million. In March 2014, the buses and employees of the Ashington depot on Lintonville Terrace transferred to a new site on Lintonville Parkway, a short distance from the original depot. The new depot was opened by Ashington's longest serving driver and engineer. Staff rest facilities and operational staff remained at the former depot until November 2014, before being moved into temporary facilities nearby. In August 2015, the Lintonville Terrace depot was demolished. In October 2022 Jesmond depot was closed after many years of services to cut costs most buses transferred elsewhere within Arriva some went to Blyth, some when to the new facility at Walkergate depot which is ran by Stagecoach In Newcastle.

Fleet and operations

Depots

As of November 2022, the company operate from nine depots across the region: Alnwick, Ashington, Blyth, Darlington (Faverdale), Durham (Belmont),

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

(Walkergate) outstation based at Stagecoach North East, Redcar,

and

Vehicles

The fleet consists mainly of diesel-powered single and double-deck buses manufactured by Alexander Dennis, Wrightbus and VDL.

Branding

As of April 2022, vehicles in the fleet are in the process of being rebranded into the new fleet livery, which was introduced to the region in January 2018. It consists of an all-round aquamarine base with white diagonal stripe, featuring the company's updated logo. The former livery was introduced over 20 years prior, and consisted of vehicles painted in an aquamarine base, with a cream semi-circle at the front, and yellow stripe along the side of the vehicle. It was later revised, with a dark blue skirt incorporated into the livery. '' MAX'' was designed for interurban express services, such as Ashington-based services X15 and X18, which run between Newcastle, Alnwick and

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census re ...

via Morpeth, and Darlington-based services X75 and X76, which run between Darlington and Barnard Castle. At the point of introduction, vehicles were branded in a two-tone blue livery, featuring leather seats, free WiFi and USB charging points. ''

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 ...

'' was conceived as a brand for premium, high-frequency services, such as Darlington-based service 7, which runs between Durham and Darlington via Ferryhill. When introduced, vehicles were branded in a two-tone blue livery (which has since been updated following changes to the standard fleet livery), featuring leather seats, free WiFi, USB charging points and next-stop audio-visual announcements.

In popular culture

In August 2016, '' DalesBus'' route 830, which runs between

and Ingleton via Hawes, was the subject of an episode of television series '' BBC Four Goes Slow'' entitled ''The Country Bus''. The episode saw a series record average audience of 800,000.

Notes

References

External links

*
Arriva North East
on Companies House
Arriva North East
website {{Bus companies in North East England, state=collapsed

North East 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 sep ...

Bus operators in Tyne and Wear Bus operators in North Yorkshire