Arriva London facts for kids
New Routemaster in Battersea on route 19
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| Parent | Arriva UK Bus |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1998 |
| Headquarters | Wood Green |
| Service area | Greater London |
| Service type | Bus operator |
| Routes | 89 |
| Depot(s) | 14 |
| Fleet | 1,528 (March 2024) |
| Fuel type | Diesel, electric and hybrid |
Arriva London is a big bus company that mainly runs buses in Greater London. It also operates some services in nearby areas like Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, and Surrey. Arriva London is part of Arriva UK Bus. It operates bus services for London Buses under special agreements with Transport for London. The company is split into two main parts: Arriva London North Limited and Arriva London South Limited.
Contents
How Arriva London Started
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The story of Arriva London began in 1980. This is when a company called the Cowie Group bought a coach business in London called Grey-Green.
In February 1987, Grey-Green started running bus routes in north and east London. They did this under a contract with London Regional Transport (LRT).
In 1989, London Buses was divided into 11 separate business units. Two of these were Leaside Buses and South London Transport. The Cowie Group bought these two units in 1994 and 1995. This was part of the plan to privatize London bus services.
By 1995, London Transport said that all buses in London had to be mostly red. So, Leaside Buses and South London Transport changed their names to Cowie Leaside and Cowie South London in 1996. Their buses became red with yellow stripes and blue and white Cowie logos.
In 1996, the Cowie Group bought another company called British Bus. This company owned Kentish Bus and London & Country, which also ran buses in the London area. In 1997, the Cowie Group changed its name to Arriva. All the London bus companies they owned, like Grey Green, Kentish Bus, Leaside Buses, London & Country, and South London Transport, started to use the Arriva logo. Later, they all got a new red London bus design with Arriva branding.
On January 1, 2016, Arriva decided to bring all its London bus operations together under Arriva London. This meant that the London services from Arriva Herts & Essex, Arriva Kent Thameside, and Tellings-Golden Miller became part of Arriva London.
Bus Garages: Where Buses Live
Arriva London has many garages where its buses are kept, maintained, and prepared for their routes. These garages are split between Arriva London North Limited and Arriva London South Limited.
Arriva London North Garages
Arriva London North Limited operates nine garages in total.
Barking Garage (DX)
Barking garage runs routes 150, 175, and SL2.
This garage opened in 1992 for Grey-Green buses. It helped with their growing services in North East London. The "DX" code comes from Dix Coaches, a Grey-Green company that moved to this new garage.
Clapton Garage (CT)
Clapton garage operates routes 38, 73, 253, N38, N73, and N253.
Clapton garage has a very long history, going back to 1882. It started as a depot for horse trams. Later, it housed electric trams and then trolleybuses. In 1950, it became a garage for motorbuses. In 1998, Clapton received London's first low-floor double-decker buses. They even tried out buses that ran on LPG (Liquified Petroleum Gas).
Edmonton Garage (EC)
Edmonton garage operates route 158.
Edmonton garage first opened in 1993. It closed in 1996 but reopened in 1997. In 2005, it was set up to handle longer, articulated buses for route 149. After closing again in 2012, it reopened on March 1, 2014, taking over operations from Lee Valley garage.
Enfield Garage (E)
Enfield garage operates routes 121, 191, 192, 279, 307, 313, 349, 377, and N279.
Enfield garage was built in 1927. It was modernized in the early 1980s. Today, Enfield garage is important for Arriva London. It has a special center for accident repairs and major bus refurbishments.
Grays Garage (GY)
Grays garage operates routes 66, 103, 248, 370, and 375.
This garage became part of Arriva London on January 1, 2016. It was transferred from Arriva Kent Thameside as part of the plan to combine all Arriva's Transport for London operations.
Palmers Green Garage (AD)
Palmers Green garage operates routes 34, 102, 141, 675, and SL1.
Palmers Green garage opened in July 1912. It was built to house buses that competed with electric trams in North London. In 1952, the garage roof had to be raised to fit taller double-decker buses. London's first modern hybrid electric bus started service from Palmers Green in March 2007 on route 141.
Stamford Hill Garage (SF)
Stamford Hill garage operates routes 19, 67, 76, 254, and N19.
Stamford Hill opened in 1907 as a tram depot. It was converted for trolleybuses in 1939 and then for regular buses in 1961. It closed in 1995 but reopened in 2006. It closed again in November 2020 but reopened on February 24, 2024, to operate route 254.
Tottenham Garage (AR)
Tottenham garage operates routes 41, 123, 149, 243, 318, 341, and N41.
Tottenham garage was built in 1913. Buses from this garage were used during World War I. In 1949, it was the first garage in London to receive 8-foot-wide buses. The last AEC Routemaster buses left Tottenham in September 2004.
Wood Green Garage (WN)
Wood Green garage operates routes 29, 144, 221, 329, W3, W4, W6, and N29.
This garage was once a horse tram depot. In the 1930s, it was completely rebuilt for trolleybus operations. In 1960, it was adapted again for regular buses.
Arriva London South Garages
Arriva London South Limited operates five garages.
Brixton Garage (BN)
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Brixton garage operates routes 50, 59, 137, 319, 417, and N137.
This garage was originally built in 1892 for cable trams. It was rebuilt for electric trams and later for buses. Brixton was one of the first garages to receive Daimler Fleetline buses in 1971. It was also the last depot to operate AEC Routemaster buses in regular service in London, with the last ones leaving on December 9, 2005.
In 2021, Brixton became the first Arriva London garage to start using electric buses. It was connected to the National Grid to charge 22 new electric buses for route 319.
Croydon Garage (TC)
Croydon garage operates routes 60, 166, 194, 312, 405, 412, 466, 627, 645, 685, and SL5.
Built in 1915, this garage was completely destroyed in 1941 during an air raid. It was rebuilt in the mid-1950s. AEC Routemaster buses arrived here in 1964.
Dartford Garage (DT)
Dartford garage operates routes 229, 301, 335, 428, 492, and B15.
This garage was transferred from Arriva Kent Thameside to Arriva London on January 1, 2016. This was part of the decision to combine all of Arriva's Transport for London routes.
Norwood Garage (N)
As of January 2024, Norwood garage operates routes 2, 196, 202, 249, 432, 468, N2, and SL6.
Norwood garage opened in 1909. In 1981, the garage was completely rebuilt. A project to install electric bus chargers at Norwood garage was finished in July 2025. This allowed 30 new electric buses to arrive for the Superloop route SL6.
Thornton Heath Garage (TH)
Thornton Heath garage operates routes 64, 198, 250, 255, 289, 410, 612, 663, 689, and N250.
This garage first opened in 1879 for horse trams. It was rebuilt as an electric tram depot in 1901. Buses started operating from the new garage in 1951. Thornton Heath became Arriva London's third garage to start moving to electric buses in November 2024. An electrical substation was installed to charge up to 109 electric buses. Initially, 22 electric buses are housed here, with more to come by spring 2025.
Former Garages
Some garages that Arriva London used to operate are now closed.
Ash Grove Garage (AE)
Ash Grove garage used to operate route 254. This garage was shared with Stagecoach London.
Ash Grove was one of three new garages opened in 1981. It had space for 140 buses. It closed in 1991 but reopened in 1994. It was also used to store old vehicles for the London Transport Museum. On February 24, 2024, Arriva London moved out of this garage. Route 254 was transferred back to Stamford Hill garage, which reopened on the same day.
Battersea Garage (BA)
The original Battersea garage opened in 1906. It closed in 1985. However, it was used again to house London Buses coaches and sightseeing operations until 1988. In 1993, a yard next to the old garage was opened for Kentish Bus.
In November 2009, Battersea garage closed for good. The area was redeveloped into luxury flats.
Beddington Farm Garage (CN)
This was a modern, purpose-built depot that opened in 1990. It had space for 120 vehicles. It became an Arriva London depot in 1999. In July 2011, Arriva announced that Beddington Farm would close by March 31, 2012.
Garston Garage (GR)
As of June 2018, Garston garage operated routes 288, 303, 305, H18, and H19.
Garston garage opened on June 18, 1952. It became part of Arriva London on January 1, 2016. It closed on August 31, 2018, when its contracts with Transport for London ended.
Heathrow Garage (HE)
This depot was originally operated by Tellings-Golden Miller. On May 31, 2014, it started operating route E10. Heathrow garage was transferred to Arriva London on January 1, 2016.
In December 2017, the operation of route E10 was moved to London United. As a result, the Heathrow depot closed shortly after.
Lee Valley Garage (LV)
Lee Valley garage was located near the River Lea. It opened in 2005 to house articulated buses for route 149.
On March 1, 2014, Lee Valley garage closed. The site was acquired by National Grid. The bus operations were moved to Edmonton garage, which reopened on the same day.
Arriva London's Bus Fleet
As of March 2024, Arriva London had a fleet of 1,528 buses. These buses use different types of fuel, including diesel, electric, and hybrid.
The Heritage Fleet: Classic Buses
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The Heritage Fleet was a special collection of classic AEC Routemaster buses. Arriva operated this fleet from 2006 to 2022. These buses were used for private events and special hires after Routemasters stopped running regular services in London in December 2005.
History of the Heritage Fleet
Arriva London took over four Routemaster bus routes when it bought Leaside Buses and South London Transport. These were routes 19, 38, 73, and 159. Route 159 was the very last London route to use Routemasters, ending on December 9, 2005. This marked the end of 50 years of Routemaster operations.
After this, Arriva London gathered some of the most important Routemasters from their fleet. They created the Heritage Fleet in early 2006.
In November 2022, Arriva London announced they would sell all the vehicles from the Heritage Fleet by the end of 2022. This ended 17 years of service for this special division. Routemaster RM2217 operated special services on route 137 on December 2, 2022, to celebrate the end of the Heritage Fleet. Money from this event was given to the Royal British Legion.
What the Heritage Fleet Did
The Heritage Fleet offered their classic buses for private hire. People could rent them for events like parties, celebrations, and weddings. The buses also appeared at public events and bus shows, like Showbus and the London Bus Preservation Trust Cobham bus rally.
Buses in the Heritage Fleet
The Heritage Fleet had nine AEC Routemaster buses. Since Arriva was the biggest operator of Routemasters before they stopped regular service, they had some very special ones. These included:
- RM5: This is the lowest numbered production Routemaster ever made.
- RM6: In 2002, this Routemaster was painted gold to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee. It still has this special gold paint.
- RML901: This was one of the first longer Routemasters (RMLs) to start service.
- RM1124: This bus was kept because it has a special engine that meets modern emission standards for London.
- RMC1453: This was the first Routemaster Coach made for Green Line Coaches.
- RMC1464: This is an open-top bus, which made it very popular for private hires.
- RM2217: This was the very last standard-length Routemaster ever built. This bus operated the final regular Routemaster service in December 2005.
- RML2355: This bus is still in the same condition as when it stopped service. It is waiting to be restored. It's special because it kept its original body and chassis after a big Routemaster repair program.
- RML2360: This bus is being looked after for the London Transport Museum. Its inside has been changed to be used for exhibitions.
