Arriva UK Bus has announced an investment programme worth in excess of £45m in 232 vehicles to upgrade its fleet over the next 12 months.
The first wave of investment will see 62 Alexander Dennis Ltd (ADL) Enviro400 double-deckers go into service across the North West. The one and two year old single decker buses they replace will be refurbished and redeployed elsewhere across the network in the Midlands, South East and North East.
A further 47 Enviro400’s will enter service in the North West in the latter half of the year.
The following stage, due to launch in the autumn, will see six premium Sapphire and two interurban express MAX routes bolstered by the introduction of a further 56 Enviro400’s.
Mark Yexley, Operations and Commercial Director for Arriva UK Bus said: “Since its launch, Sapphire has exceeded our expectations in terms of both patronage and revenue, and plays a pivotal role in our ongoing investment strategy. As Sapphire continues to perform well across all the routes on which it operates, we feel that both refreshing the existing fleet as well as instigating further launches will serve as an extra incentive to passengers demanding something a little different from their transport providers.
A further 28 buses, built to Sapphire’s specification, including environmentally-sourced leather seating, power points and extra leg room, are on route for use on Durham’s route 6 and in Northfleet. These will be single deck Wrightbus StreetLite Max vehicles manufactured with Cummins Euro 5 engines as well as Wrightbus’ Micro Hybrid Technology. A further six of these StreetLite Max buses will be used elsewhere in the Arriva fleet.
The remainder of the investment will include the addition of 12 Wrightbus Hybrid StreetLite Midi vehicles for use in the Southern Counties, along with four smaller 8.8m StreetLite Micro Hybrids.
The Wrexham, Rhyl, and Luton depots will then benefit from the launch of a fleet of ADL Enviro200 midi buses.
The 2015 investment plan breaks down as follows:
- 165 ADL Enviro400
- 11 ADL Enviro200
- 12 Wrightbus 10.8m StreetLite Midi Hybrid
- 34 Wrightbus 11.5m StreetLite Max Hybrid
- 4 Wrightbus 8.8m StreetLite Micro Hybrid
· 6 Optare 8.8m Solo
