Arriva Max was a premium brand used by various

Arriva Arriva Ltd. is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England. The company was originally established on 24 October 1938 as T Cowie Ltd. Initially focused on the sale of motorcycles, it relaunched shortl ...

bus subsidiaries in the United Kingdom.

History

In September 2014,

launched the Max brand for interurban express services. The first services were launched by

Arriva North East Arriva North East operates both local and regional bus services in County Durham, Northumberland, North Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear, England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus, which operates bus and coach services across the United Kingdom. ...

, which is cited as the creator and home of the brand (alongside jointly managed

Arriva Yorkshire Arriva Yorkshire is a major bus operator providing services primarily within and across West Yorkshire, although it also provides service in some parts of South Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire and southern areas of North Yorkshire. It is a ...

), with routes X10 and X11 from

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

to Blyth using refurbished double-deck vehicles.Arriva goes Max
''

Coach & Bus Week ''Coach & Bus Week'' (CBW) is a weekly trade magazine based in Peterborough for the road passenger transport industry in the United Kingdom. The magazine is available by subscription, from main branches of WHSmith and from some independent newsa ...

'' 1 September 2014Maximum Impact: Max comes to Northumberland
Arriva 2 September 2014 The brand was additionally rolled out by

Arriva Buses Wales Arriva Buses Wales () 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 services in Wales and northe ...

Arriva Shires & Essex Arriva Herts & Essex is a bus operator providing services in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire, with services extending to Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Greater London. Until 2002 its operations included Arriva Colchester, Col ...

and

Arriva Southern Counties Arriva Southern Counties Limited, trading as Arriva Southern Counties, is a bus operator in Kent, Essex, Hertfordshire, and Surrey in England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus, which is part of the Arriva group owned by Deutsche Bahn. The ...

, all of which have since discontinued the brand. Arriva North East and Arriva Yorkshire increased the number of Max branded routes within their regions. Most of the new routes were launched with

Titan the Robot Titan the Robot (often referred to as Titan) is a robotic entertainment show developed by the British company Cyberstein Robotics Ltd. It is approximately 8 feet tall and weighs which increases to including the cart it rides on and onboard equip ...

, to celebrate and create interest in each upgrade. The Max brand has been scaled back significantly in recent years as part of the Arriva rebrand, however some routes were withdrawn or were upgraded with new standard or refurbished

Arriva Sapphire Arriva Sapphire is a luxury brand used by various Arriva bus subsidiaries in the United Kingdom. History In February 2013, Arriva UK Bus announced that it would launch a Luxury service under the Sapphire brand for its bus services in the U ...

buses. In 2022, Arriva started to phase out the Max brand nationally, with the majority of buses being repainted into the standard Arriva livery or replaced with new buses.

Routes

As of July 2024, there were 8 Arriva Max routes. Ariva Northumbria *306 -

Whitley Bay Whitley Bay is a seaside town in the North Tyneside borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It was formerly governed as part of Northumberland and has been part of Tyne and Wear since 1974. It is part of the wider Tyneside built-up area, being around ...

via

Tynemouth Tynemouth () is a coastal town in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, in Tyne and Wear, England. It is located on the north side of the mouth of the River Tyne, England, River Tyne, hence its name. It is east-northeast of Newcastle up ...

Arriva North East

* X12 -

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

via

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

* X26/X27 -

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

and Catterick * X46 -

Crook Crook is slang for criminal. Crook or Crooks may also refer to: Places Canada * Crooks Inlet, former name of Kangiqturjuaq, Nunavut England * Crook, County Durham, a town * Crook, Cumbria, a village and civil parish * Crook Hill, Derby ...

* X66 -

* X75/X76 -

Barnard Castle Barnard Castle (, ) is a market town on the north bank of the River Tees, in County Durham, England. The town is named after and built around a medieval castle ruin. The town's Bowes Museum has an 18th-century Silver Swan automaton exhibit ...

* X66/X67 -

Arriva Yorkshire

* 202/203 -

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

via

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder, West Yorkshire, River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, ...

Former routes

Arriva Southern Counties

* 5 -

Southend 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 south-eastern Essex, England. It lies on the nor ...

Basildon Basildon ( ) is a town in Borough of Basildon, the borough of the same name, in the county of Essex, England. It had a recorded population of 115,955 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. In 1931, the town had a population of 1,159. ...

, withdrawn in September 2016 due to a lack of patronage, existing

First Essex First Essex is a bus company operating services in the county of Essex. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. History First Essex arose from an amalgamation of Eastern National and Thamesway Buses. First Essex was originally part of the Ea ...

routes replaced itBus Passenger News September/October 2016
Essex Highways * 34/35 -

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west 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 nam ...

Camberley Camberley is a town in north-west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. It is in the Surrey Heath, Borough of Surrey Heath and is close to the county boundaries with Hampshire and Berkshire. Known originally as "Cambridge Tow ...

via Westfield,

Mayford Mayford is a village in Woking borough of the county of Surrey, England. It is 3 miles south of Woking on Egley Road, part of the A320 between Woking and Guildford, Surrey. The village is mainly centred on the roundabout in the middle of the vi ...

and Sutton Green, Upgraded to

Arriva The Shires

* 60/X60 -

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery and the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Waterside Theatre. It is located in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wycombe and Milt ...

* 150 - Milton Keynes to Aylesbury via

Leighton Buzzard Leighton Buzzard ( ) is a market town in Bedfordshire, England, in the southwest of the county and close to the Buckinghamshire border. It lies between Aylesbury, Tring, Luton/ Dunstable and Milton Keynes, near the Chiltern Hills. It is nor ...

* 300 - Aylesbury to

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...

via

Princes Risborough Princes Risborough () is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England; it is located about south of Aylesbury and northwest of High Wycombe. It lies at the foot of the Chiltern Hills, at the north end of a gap or pass through ...

* 800/850 - High Wycombe to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

Arriva North East

* X1 -

via

Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham, England, Durham. M ...

, removed from the MAX brand with buses now carrying the Arriva logo in its place. * X67 - Darlington to

, withdrawn and replaced with revised route X66. * X93/X94 - Middlesbrough to

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

via

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk, North Yorkshire, River Esk and has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy. From the Middle Ages, Whitby ...

, removed from the MAX brand following refurbishment and rebrand of existing vehicles and is now a part of the sapphire brand. However this was an accident, as when Arriva north east uprgraded the buses on the route with the newer Max livery which was the same as the newer Sapphire livery, Arriva accidentally ordered Sapphire branded e-leather instead of Max branded e-leather and due to the Max and Sapphire brands having identical newer livery, Arriva chose to upgrade the routes to be under the Sapphire brand instead of ordered Max branded e-leather.

Arriva Northumbria

* X7/X8 - Newcastle to Blyth via Quorum Business Park, removed from the MAX brand with buses now carrying the Arriva logo in its place. * X9/X10/X11 - Newcastle to Blyth via Cramlington, removed from the MAX brand with buses now carrying the Arriva logo in its place. * X14 - Newcastle to Thropton via Morpeth, removed from the MAX brand following delivery of new buses in the standard livery. * X15/X18 - Newcastle to Berwick via Morpeth and Alnwick, removed from the MAX brand following delivery of new buses in the standard livery. * X16 - Newcastle to Kirkhill Estate via Morpeth, withdrawn and replaced in part by an extended route 2. * X20 - Newcastle to Alnwick via Ashington, removed from the MAX brand following delivery of new buses in the standard livery. * 308 - Newcastle to Blyth, following a change in vehicle allocation, the initial vehicles (Wright Gemini 2-bodied Volvo B5LHs) were transferred to Arriva Yorkshire, in return for unrefurbished Wright Gemini 2-bodied VDL DB300s which were later refurbished to the new standard Arriva livery and specification.

Arriva Yorkshire

* 415 -

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

Selby Selby is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, south of York on the River Ouse. At the 2021 Census, it had a population of 17,193. The town was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire; from 1974 until 2023, ...

, upgraded to

. * 229 -

, upgraded to

. * 444 - Leeds to Wakefield * 268 /268A - Wakefield/Dewsbury to Bradford

Vehicles

Max branded vehicles had leather seats, free

WiFi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...

and a modified livery, some also include charging points (standard from early-2016), furthermore some buses also include air conditioning. Initially only refurbished vehicles were used with Arriva North East and Arriva Yorkshire opting for

Wright Gemini 2 The Wright Gemini 2 is a double-decker bus built by Wrightbus between 2007 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 bodywor ...

bodied

VDL DB300 The Wright Gemini 2 is a double-decker bus built by Wrightbus between 2007 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 Bus & Coach, ...

s. Since then, Arriva North East had also refurbished

Scania OmniCity The Scania OmniCity is an integrally constructed Transverse engine, vertically-engined Low-floor bus, low floor city bus that was available from Scania AB, Scania on the European market between 1996 (across Europe)/1997 and 2012. The OmniCity ...

s and

Alexander Dennis Enviro400 The Alexander Dennis Enviro400 is a twin-axle low-floor double-decker bus that was built by the British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis between 2005 and 2018. It replaced the Alexander ALX400 (from which the Enviro400 was developed). In 201 ...

s and more recently had purchased brand new stock in the form of further Alexander Dennis Enviro400s,

Wright StreetLite The Wright StreetLite is a low-floor bus, low-floor midibus introduced by Wrightbus in 2010. It was originally available in only one body style (wheel forward) before the door forward and StreetLite Max variants were introduced in 2011 and 2012 ...

s and

Volvo B9TL The Volvo B9TL is a low-floor double-decker bus built by Volvo Buses, Volvo from 2002 until 2018. It superseded the Volvo Super Olympian and the Volvo B7TL. The 2-axle version has been superseded by the Volvo B5TL in 2014 and the 3-axle version ...

s. Meanwhile, Arriva Yorkshire had refurbished a mixture of Wright Gemini 2/VDL DB300s and Alexander Dennis Enviro400s as well as purchasing new Alexander Dennis Enviro400s. Elsewhere, Arriva Herts & Essex had refurbished

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, ...

s while Arriva Buses Wales had refurbished

Wright Pulsar The Wright Pulsar was a single-decker bus body built on the VDL SB200 single-decker bus chassis by Wrightbus between 2006 and 2014. A total of 639 Pulsars were built. Arriva was the main customer, with large numbers entering service at its Ke ...

bodied

VDL SB200 The VDL SB200 (originally the DAF SB200) is a light-weight, low floor single decker bus chassis that was produced from 2001 (to 2014 for the UK) by VDL Bus & Coach (formerly DAF Bus International). It superseded the SB220. It is originally de ...

References

{{Arriva Group UK, state=collapsed

Max Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

Bus transport brands Luxury brands 2014 establishments in the United Kingdom 2022 disestablishments in the United Kingdom

History

Routes

Arriva North East

Arriva Yorkshire

Former routes

Arriva Southern Counties

Arriva The Shires

Arriva North East

Arriva Northumbria

Arriva Yorkshire

Vehicles

See also

References