Trent Barton’s non-stop red arrow coach service between Derby and Nottingham is getting a £3m upgrade, with nine new coaches, each with free 4G WiFi and tables at every seat.
The Plaxton Elite coaches, an example of which appeared and Coach & Bus Live this year, also feature USB charging points for phones, tablets and laptops, bike storage for cyclists, extra-wide reclining leather seats and additional legroom at every seat.
The new coaches are due to begin picking up passengers at Derby Bus Station, the QMC and Nottingham Victoria Bus Station from Sunday, October 25.
It is 20 years since the first Red Arrow launched in 1995 to cut the hour-plus journey time between the two cities. At first, red arrows ran once an hour. By 1997 it was every half hour and the frequency doubled again to every 15 minutes in 2003 when late evening and Sunday services also began.
Free WiFi put passengers online from 2010, when coaches started running beyond 0300hrs on Friday and Saturday nights.
Trent Barton says the Red Arrow service, which now runs every 10 minutes at peak times between the two city centres, is its flagship route. This new coaches represent Trent Barton’s biggest ever per vehicle investment.
The bigger coaches will carry more people on a route where passenger numbers continue to grow. In 2014, there were 1.38 million red arrow passenger journeys, including the Derby to Chesterfield comet link – a 10% increase on 2013.
2015 is en route to setting a new record, with more than a million journeys already this year.
Tom Morgan, Director of Service Delivery at Trent Barton, said: “£3m is a major investment in this vital link between the two cities, a service that is highly valued by our customers.
“Customer satisfaction is already sky high and passengers are about to experience a whole new level of comfort and convenience.”
The only change to the Red Arrow timetable is the addition of extra evening coaches to satisfy a growing demand. Red Arrow runs until 0330hrs on Friday and Saturday nights. The coaches on the Derby-Chesterfield leg are also being updated, with low floors and free WiFi.
