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Arriva Midlands
An Arriva Midlands Enviro200 in the new corporate livery, June 2022.
ParentArriva UK Bus
Founded1904; 120 years ago (1904)
Headquarters4 Westmoreland Avenue, Thurmaston, Leicestershire, United Kingdom
Service areaEast Midlands
West Midlands
Bedfordshire
Buckinghamshire
Service typeBus services
Depots11
Chief executiveMike Cooper
Websitewww.arrivabus.co.uk/Midlands

Arriva Midlands[1] is a bus operator providing services in the East Midlands and West Midlands areas of England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus.

Arriva Midlands North Operations

Plaxton Pointer 2 bodied Dennis Dart in Whitchurch in August 2009
Wardle Transport Northern Counties Palatine bodied Volvo Olympian in October 2012
A Wright Gemini bodied VDL DB250 pictured on route 104 to Fosse Park.

In September 1981 Midland Red North[2] was formed with 230 buses operating from six depots in Shropshire, Staffordshire and the West Midlands as part of the breakup of the Midland Red bus company.[3] In May 1983 the Ludlow depot was closed. In January 1988 Midland Red North was sold to the Drawlane Transport Group.[4] In November 1992 it was sold to British Bus which in August 1996 was sold to the Cowie Group.[5][6][7]

In 2003 the Arriva Midlands North garages in Crewe, Macclesfield and Winsford were transferred to Arriva North West. These had previously been operated by Crosville and had adopted the "Midland Redline" fleetname after transfer to Midland Red North. The remaining parts of Arriva Midlands North were combined with Arriva Derby and Arriva Fox County to form Arriva Midlands. Buses still operate with Arriva Midlands North legal name (except Burton upon Trent which used Stevensons of Uttoxeter).

In February 2007 the business of Chase Coaches was purchased with 27 buses with operations integrated into Arriva's Cannock depot.[8] In late 2007 a new ChaseLinx brand (similar to the Leicester Linx brand) was introduced, reflecting the purchase of Chase Coaches.

In December 2007 Swadlincote depot closed with operations transferred to Burton upon Trent. In August 2008 the Hinckley depot and services were sold to Centebus Holdings.[9] In January 2009 Shifnal depot closed while in the same month Bridgnorth reopened.

In December 2010 the business of Wardle Transport, Stoke-on-Trent was purchased with 64 buses,[10][11] followed in June 2011 by the Staffordshire operations of D&G Bus with 30 buses that was integrated with Wardle Transport[12][13] and in August 2012 Midland of Wednesfield from D&G Bus with 61 buses.[14]

In May 2015, D&G Bus purchased Wardle transport back from Arriva Midlands with 19 buses.[15][16][17]

On 23 April 2017 the Wednesfield depot closed with some services passing to Diamond Buses with nine vehicles and the remainder of vehicles reallocated to other depots.[18][19] The depot had only reopened in March 2013 after a refurbishment.[20]

In 2017, four Arriva Shires & Essex depots (Milton Keynes, Luton, Aylesbury and High Wycombe), and their routes, were transferred into the management of Arriva Midlands. The vehicles were renumbered in late 2018 and early 2019 to avoid multiple vehicles having the same fleet numbers.[21]

Arriva announced that from 1 April 2018 that no buses from their Cannock depot would run during the evenings and Sundays as a result of Staffordshire County Council funding cuts.[22] Hundreds signed an online petition within the first week, which quickly lead to thousands including backing from two local MPs.[23]

In November 2020 it was announced that the Cannock Depot would be sold to D&G bus, with services being operated under the Chaserider brand from the end of service on 9 January 2021.[24][25]

Derbyshire Operations

Arriva Derby East Lancs Myllennium Lowlander bodied VDL DB250 in Derby in September 2007
Main article: Arriva Derby

In 1994 Derby City Transport was privatised and sold to British Bus.[26] In August 1996 British Bus was purchased by the Cowie Group and the operation rebranded as Arriva Derby.[27]

Arriva previously had a depot in Burton Upon Trent until August 2016 when the operations passed to Midland Classic.

Leicestershire Operations

Arriva Midlands East Wright StreetDeck Electroliner in Leicester in May 2024
Main article: Arriva Midlands East

In September 1981 Midland Red East[28] was formed with 181 buses operating from five depots in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire as part of the breakup of the Midland Red bus company, and in January 1984 was renamed Midland Fox.[3] In 1987 it was privatised in a management buyout. Several smaller operators including Loughborough Bus & Coach Company were purchased and in 1989 it was sold to the Drawlane Group. In November 1992 it was sold to British Bus which in August 1996 was sold to the Cowie Group and later renamed Arriva Fox County.[5]

Arriva Midlands East currently operate from three depots within the Leicestershire area these are Thurmaston, Coalville and Barwell.

In September 2013, Arriva purchased Centrebus Groups shares in Centrebus Holdings with their Hinckley operations becoming Hinckley Bus which operated as a part of Arriva Midlands [29][30] During late 2018 they merged operations into the main Arriva Midlands business.

Arriva announced in August 2021 after 64 years they will be closing their South Wigston depot during October 2021 with all services moving to Thurmaston depot.[31]

Depots

Current Depots

Arriva Midlands operate eleven depots as of January 2022 in:[32]

In 2017, four Arriva Shires & Essex depots (Milton Keynes, Luton, Aylesbury and High Wycombe), and their routes, were transferred into the management of Arriva Midlands. The vehicles were renumbered in late 2018 and early 2019 to avoid multiple Arriva Midlands vehicles sharing the same fleet numbers.[21]

In 2018 the Cannock depot began closing entirely on Sundays due to county council subsidy cuts, leaving Cannock without buses, with the Cannock depot being sold to D&G bus in January 2021.

In 2023, Arriva announced that it planned to close the Oswestry depot as a result of low patronage and financial difficulties following the Covid-19 pandemic. Most services operated from Oswestry would be moved to Shrewsbury and Arriva Buses Wales' Wrexham depot if the planned closure is approved.[33] The closure went ahead in early summer 2023.

Former Depots

  • Cannock - purchased by D&G Bus in November 2020, and was transferred on 9 January 2021.[34]
  • Burton-upon-Trent - purchased by Midland Classic in 2016[35]
  • Wednesfield - closed in 2017 due to loss of most Transport for West Midlands contracted services. Nine vehicles and remaining tendered routes sold to Diamond Bus. Commercially run routes 35, and 35A were moved to Cannock Depot, while routes 10, 10A, and 10B were transferred to Telford Depot. Service 10 has since been withdrawn by Arriva (after a spell being operated by Cannock depot) with the 10A & 10B now operated by National Express.
  • Bridgnorth depot, an outstation of Telford, operated services 585-588 in South Staffordshire along with service 9, 297, 101 and 436. The depot closed with the ending of the 585-588 routes in 2012 with services being operated by Shrewsbury (436) and Telford (other routes). It was located on the Stanmore Industrial Estate.
  • Wellington - replaced by new depot in Telford.
  • Southgates - Former Midland Fox garage closed in 2009 and operations were merged with the Thurmaston Depot
  • Wigston - Closed 31 October 2021
  • Oswestry - Operated by Arriva since early 2000s after moving from previous Midland Red depot. Operated services 2/2A/2C, 53, 54, 405, 449, 79A, 71, X5 prior to decision to close depot in early 2023. Services 53 and X5 transferred to Shrewsbury whereas services 2/2A/2C transferred to Arriva Wales Wrexham; all remaining routes were reallocated to other operators.

References

  1. ^ Companies House extract company no 2141078 Arriva Midlands Limited formerly Arriva Fox County Limited formerly Midland Fox Limited
  2. ^ Companies House extract company no 1556305 Arriva Midlands North Limited formerly Midland Rd (North) Limited
  3. ^ a b Midland Red Depots Archived 3 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine MidlandRed.net
  4. ^ Companies House extract company no 2756785 Burroughs Hill Limited formerly Drawlane Transport Group plc
  5. ^ a b Arriva Midlands History Archived 28 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine Arriva
  6. ^ Cowie Group plc and British Bus Group Limited: A report on the merger situation Competition Commission 31 October 1996
  7. ^ Principal operating subsidiaries of British Bus Competition Commission 1997
  8. ^ Arriva acquires Chase Coaches Archived 8 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Bus & Coach Professional 27 February 2007
  9. ^ Centrebus Herts & Beds Oxford & Chilterns Bus Page 31 August 2008
  10. ^ Arriva Midlands announces acquisition of Wardle Transport Arriva 8 December 2010
  11. ^ Arriva boosts Midlands bus operation with Wardle Transport purchase Transport Xtra 9 December 2010
  12. ^ Arriva Midlands acquires D&G Archived 1 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine Bus & Coach Professional 10 June 2011
  13. ^ D&G Buses bought by Arriva - owners blame subsidy cuts for sale The Sentinel 11 June 2011
  14. ^ Arriva Midlands to expand operations in the West Midlands Arriva 10 August 2012
  15. ^ "D&G Bus to takeover Wardle Transport routes". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  16. ^ D&G buys Wardle Transport Bus & Coach Buyer 18 March 2015
  17. ^ "D&G Bus" Buses issue 723 June 2015 page 84
  18. ^ Rotala signs deal with Arriva to take on Wednesfield operation Rotala 24 March 2017
  19. ^ Diamond takes on Arriva Wednesfield Bus & Coach Buyer 24 March 2017
  20. ^ Arriva Wednesfield depot reopens Coach & Bus Week 3 April 2013
  21. ^ a b "Arriva Midlands Fleet changes". www.wmbusphotos.com. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  22. ^ "Arriva Bus".
  23. ^ "Staffordshire MPs join fight to save Sunday bus services | Express & Star".
  24. ^ "Arriva Bus". www.arrivabus.co.uk. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  25. ^ "Chaserider". www.dgbus.co.uk. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  26. ^ Arriva Midlands - In Derby The Derby Bus Depot
  27. ^ Derby Corporation Transport 1899 - 1986 Peter Gould
  28. ^ Companies House extract company no 1556557 Foxhound Limited formerly Midland Fox Limited formerly Midland Red (East) Limited
  29. ^ Centrebus (Holdings) Limited Arriva 9 September 2013
  30. ^ Arriva takes joint venture control Archived 22 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine Bus & Coach Professional 12 September 2013
  31. ^ "Fond memories one of Leicester's oldest bus depots that's about to close - Leicestershire Live".
  32. ^ "UK Buses Arriva Midlands Fleet June 2019" (PDF). 13 July 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 July 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  33. ^ "Arriva set to close Oswestry, Macclesfield and Winsford". routeone. 27 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  34. ^ "Arriva Bus". www.arrivabus.co.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  35. ^ "Arriva bids farewell to Burton depot". www.arrivabus.co.uk. 25 August 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
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