Arriva Midlands

Arriva Midlands

Wright Eclipse Gemini bodied Volvo B9TL in Birmingham in September 2010
Parent Arriva
Founded 1997
Headquarters Thurmaston
Service area East Midlands
West Midlands
Service type Bus services
Depots 13
Chief executive Alex Perry
Website www.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.

Arriva Midlands North

Plaxton Pointer 2 bodied Dennis Dart in Whitchurch in August 2009
Wardle Transport Northern Counties Palatine bodied Volvo Olympian in October 2012

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. 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 uses 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 below) 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]

In April 2016, Arriva confirmed it was in talks to sell its Burton upon Trent based services to Midland Classic.[18][19] The deal took effect on 27 August 2016 with 30 buses and 80 staff transferring.[20]

Arriva Derby

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.[21] In August 1996 British Bus was purchased by the Cowie Group and the operation rebranded as Arriva Derby.[22]

Arriva Fox County

Arriva Fox County Wright Commander bodied VDL SB200 in Coventry in July 2007
Main article: Arriva Fox County

In September 1981 Midland Red East[23] 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]

Hinckley Bus

In September 2013, Centrebus Group sold its shares in Centrebus Holdings to Arriva[24][25] which included depots and services in West Yorkshire along with the operations based in Hinckley which are now trading as Hinckley Bus and are again a part of Arriva Midlands, having been sold to Centrebus Holdings in August 2008.[26]

Hinckley Bus operate a number of Leicestershire County Council tendered bus services to villages that surround Hinckley including Burbage and Sharnford, Thurlaston,[27][28] along with commercially operated services to Lutterworth, Market Harborough, Barwell, Rugby, Leicester and Tamworth.

Depots

Arriva Midlands operate 12 depots as of Aug 2016 due to the sale of the Burton on Trent depot plus all its Burton & Swadlincote route to Midland Classic. These depots are in:[29]

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. 1 2 Midland Red Depots MidlandRed.net
  4. ↑ Companies House extract company no 2756785 Burroughs Hill Limited formerly Drawlane Transport Group plc
  5. 1 2 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 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
  16. ↑ D&G buys Wardle Transport Bus & Coach Buyer 18 March 2015
  17. ↑ "D&G Bus" Buses issue 723 June 2015 page 84
  18. ↑ Arriva in talks to sell Burton bus services to Midland Classic Burton Mail 26 April 2016
  19. ↑ Arriva plans sale of Burton operation to Midland Classic Route One 27 April 2016
  20. ↑ "Arriva transfers Burton operation to Midland Classic" Coach & Bus Week issue 1255 30 August 2016 page 6
  21. ↑ Arriva Midlands - In Derby The Derby Bus Depot
  22. ↑ Derby Corporation Transport 1899 - 1986 Peter Gould
  23. ↑ Companies House extract company no 1556557 Foxhound Limited formerly Midland Fox Limited formerly Midland Red (East) Limited
  24. ↑ Centrebus (Holdings) Limited Arriva 9 September 2013
  25. ↑ Arriva takes joint venture control Archived 22 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Bus & Coach Professional 12 September 2013
  26. ↑ Hinckley Bus Arriva
  27. ↑ Contracted bus routes (3 - 25) Leicestershire County Council
  28. ↑ Contracted Bus Routes (113 - 162 & Miscellaneous Services Leicestershire County Council
  29. ↑ Arriva Midlands UK Buses

External links

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