Vehicles are first investment in new buses for Colchester since Arriva reclaimed the Network Colchester brand from Telling Golden Miller
Arriva Southern Counties has invested £777,000 in its Colchester operation for vehicles on a new Park & Ride contract.
The five brand-new Alexander Dennis Enviro200s are additional to the existing 33-strong fleet based at the Essex depot and have been purchased for use on Essex County Council’s new Colchester Park & Ride service, which started on April 13.
Fitted with air-conditioning and Hanover Displays’ next-stop screens inside, the buses have 36 environmentally-sourced leather seats offering additional space and are painted in the county council’s all-black livery as used on its long-established Park & Ride services in Chelmsford.
The Enviro200s are the first new buses for Arriva’s Colchester operation for several years and a group of seven drivers has been recruited to form the regular team that will provide the Park & Ride service.
The company’s mainstream Colchester services continue to trade as Network Colchester, the brand that Arriva inherited when it took back the operation from the Tellings Golden Miller Group in 2013 and SXConnect for a longer-distance route, the 133, to Braintree and Stansted Airport.
Arriva Marketing Manager Richard Lewis said: “We are delighted to have been awarded the contract for this brand-new Park & Ride service which has allowed us to make a significant investment in new buses for our Colchester depot.
“The distinctive livery and our team of friendly drivers should help to encourage people to leave their cars at the smart new Park & Ride facility located alongside Junction 28 of the A12 and to relieve some of the traffic congestion in and around Colchester town centre.”
Arriva Southern Counties has invested a total of £8.5m in 51 new buses since last July. Another 33 new buses are on order for delivery over the next two months for use at Arriva’s depots in Kent and Surrey.
