Arriva Southern Counties facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Arriva Southern Counties

Wright Gemini 2 in Aylesford in 2022
Parent	Arriva UK Bus
Founded	November 1986 (1986-11)
Headquarters	Maidstone
Service area	Essex Harlow Hemel Hempstead Kent Watford Ware
Service type	Bus services
Hubs	Chatham, Maidstone, Tunbridge Wells
Depot(s)	11
Operator	Arriva Colchester Arriva Kent & Sussex Arriva Kent Thameside Arriva Medway Towns Arriva Southend
Web site	www.arrivabus.co.uk

Arriva Southern Counties is a bus company that runs bus services in parts of Kent, Essex, Hemel Hempstead, and Watford in England. It is part of a bigger company called Arriva UK Bus.

History of Arriva Southern Counties

A double-decker bus in Royal Tunbridge Wells in 2009

A New Enterprise Coaches bus in 2004

Arriva Southern Counties started its journey in November 1986. Back then, a company called National Bus Company sold one of its bus operators, Maidstone & District, to a new company called Einkorn Limited. This was a "management buyout," meaning the company's managers bought it.

Over the next few years, Einkorn Limited grew by buying other bus companies. In 1988, they bought New Enterprise Coaches. They also took over some bus services from Shearings in 1991 and bought Boro'line Maidstone in 1992.

In 1995, Einkorn Limited was sold to another company called British Bus. British Bus already owned other bus companies like Kentish Bus. Later that year, Einkorn was renamed Invictaway.

In 1996, a large company called the Cowie Group took over British Bus. This led to Invictaway being renamed Arriva Southern Counties in April 1998. Arriva then brought other bus companies they owned, like London & Country, under the Arriva Southern Counties name.

This meant that several bus companies became part of Arriva Southern Counties, including:

• Maidstone & District, which mostly became Arriva Kent & Sussex and Arriva Medway Towns.
• Kentish Bus, which mostly became Arriva Kent Thameside and partly Arriva Kent & Sussex.
• London & Country, which became Arriva Guildford & West Surrey.

Since then, Arriva has made many changes to its bus services in the South East of England. Today, Arriva Southern Counties also manages Arriva Guildford & West Surrey, Arriva West Sussex, and Arriva Southend. Some services in the Croydon and North Surrey areas were moved to Arriva London.

Over the years, some depots (places where buses are kept and maintained) were sold or closed. For example, the Crawley depot was sold in 2001, and the Merstham depot closed. In 2004, Arriva Colchester was sold but later came back to Arriva in 2007. The Horsham depot was sold in 2009.

In 2015, Arriva Southern Counties took over the bus services in Colchester and Harlow, rebranding them as Arriva Colchester and Arriva Harlow.

A big project called Operation Overdrive invested £10 million to improve the bus network in the Medway Towns.

More recently, in 2021, the Sheerness depot closed, and some routes were taken over by Chalkwell Coaches. Later that year, routes from the Northfleet depot were also taken over by Redroute Buses. In December 2021, the Guildford depot closed, and its services in Surrey ended, with some routes being taken over by Stagecoach South.

Bus Services

A bus in Hadlow in 2022

Arriva Southern Counties runs many different bus services. These include local routes within towns and longer routes that connect different towns.

Local and Interurban Services

In places like Colchester and Southend-on-Sea, Arriva Southern Counties operates local bus networks. In Southend, their buses cover areas like Rayleigh, Hadleigh, Rochford, and Shoeburyness. In Colchester, they run services around the town.

In Kent, buses from their depots in Northfleet, Gillingham, Maidstone, and Tunbridge Wells create a network across the northern and western parts of the county. These services connect towns like Dartford, Gravesend, Chatham, Maidstone, Tonbridge, and Tunbridge Wells. They also reach smaller places like Tenterden and Sevenoaks.

The company also has some special branded services:

Sapphire Routes 480/490

A Sapphire bus at Bluewater Bus Station in 2014

Arriva Southern Counties uses special Sapphire branded buses on routes 480 and 490 in the Kent Thameside area. These routes connect Dartford and Bluewater with places like Greenhithe, Swanscombe, and Gravesend. These buses are extra comfy, with free WiFi, nice seats, and USB charging points for your devices.

Southend Route 9

In Southend, Arriva Southern Counties runs special branded buses on route 9. This route goes between Rayleigh and Shoeburyness. The buses on this route have a fun slogan: "We're heading to the beach".

Park & Ride

Park & Ride services help people park their cars outside a busy town or city and then take a bus into the centre, reducing traffic and pollution.

Colchester Park & Ride

Arriva Southern Counties operates the Colchester Park & Ride service. Buses run in a loop between the Park & Ride site (next to the A12 road), Colchester City Centre, and Colchester Station.

Maidstone Park & Ride

A Maidstone Park & Ride bus in 2020

Until February 2022, Arriva Southern Counties also ran the Maidstone Park & Ride service. This service connected Maidstone Town Centre with two park & ride sites. It was stopped because fewer people were using it, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fastrack Services

A Fastrack bus at Bluewater in 2015

Arriva Southern Counties operates the Fastrack bus system in the Thames Gateway area of Kent. This is a special bus system that uses dedicated bus lanes to make journeys faster.

They currently run three Fastrack services:

• Route A travels from Dartford to Bluewater, passing through places like Temple Hill and Greenhithe.
• Route AZ connects the Amazon warehouse to Dartford or Gravesend during shift changes for workers.
• Route B goes from Temple Hill to Gravesend, stopping at places like Darent Valley Hospital, Bluewater, and Ebbsfleet Valley.

Since 2007, Route B has connected with the Eurostar train service at Ebbsfleet International railway station. Eurostar passengers can even travel for free on this bus service!

Arriva also tested a mobile "m-ticket" system on the Fastrack network before using it on all their other services.

Soon, another company called Go-Ahead London will take over the Fastrack network from November 2024.

Bus Depots

A double-decker bus in Tunbridge Wells in 2009

A school bus in Cliffe in 2009

A bus in Dorking in 2009

Bus depots are like garages where buses are parked, cleaned, and repaired.

Current Depots

Arriva Southern Counties currently has several depots:

Former Depots

Arriva Southern Counties used to have other depots that are now closed or transferred to other companies:

The Dartford and Grays depots used to operate only services for Transport for London, which meant all their buses were red. These depots were later transferred to Arriva London in 2016 to put all of Arriva's London services under one company.

Fleet Size

As of December 2013, Arriva Southern Counties had about 900 buses and coaches in its fleet.