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United Kingdom

  • Arriva is one of the UK's largest bus operators, with operations in the North East, North West and South East of England, Yorkshire, the Midlands, Scotland and Wales.
  • We are one of London's largest bus operators.
  • We operate CrossCountry, the UK's most extensive rail franchise, and virtually all train services in Wales.

Bus operations

Our strong regional management teams ensure that we are well placed to serve customers locally, and to work with private and public sector partners to deliver effective transport solutions.

Employees are encouraged to take part in Skills for Life training, offering both vocational and non-vocational courses at 24 depot-based Learning Centres across the UK. London employees undertake a BTEC qualification covering driving and customer care.

All of our conventionally-powered buses are fuelled by ultra-low-sulphur diesel which contains five per cent biofuel. In 2007 our UK Regions bus business invested some £30 million in providing many new easy-access buses for the comfort and convenience of our passengers. These are all fitted with CCTV for customer safety and meet the very latest environmental standards.

Regional services

  • Our local bus services operate in major urban areas like Liverpool, Leeds, Leicester, Glasgow and Newcastle.
  • We also have a strong presence in the Midlands and Home Counties, with a mix of inter-urban trunk routes and market town networks.
  • Arriva buses also provide important links in rural areas like north Wales.
  • Recent acquisitions include small operations in Staffordshire and Darlington, and bus, coach and airport related transport operator Tellings Golden Miller.
  • We have sold more than three million tickets via PayPoint terminals in 19,000 local shops, a scheme which we pioneered across the UK.
  • We have revitalised routes across our major service areas outside of London, increasing passenger numbers.

London services

  • We provide around 20 per cent of London’s bus services under contract to Transport for London.
  • Contracts involve routes, vehicles and timetables specified by TfL and are closely monitored to ensure high quality services.
  • We have achieved enhanced revenue under TfL’s Quality Incentive Contracts, which rewarded our consistently high service levels.
  • Arriva London services cover more than 60 million miles and handle nearly 330 million passenger journeys a year.
  • The Original Tour, Arriva’s sightseeing business, has invested in excess of £5 million in low floor wheelchair-accessible buses - the first in London.

Train operations

Arriva Trains

Arriva Trains is responsible for the management and development of the group's rail presence in the UK. It manages bidding for franchises and works closely with industry partners. Our offices are in Birmingham and Leeds.

Arriva Trains Wales

In 2003 Arriva began operating the 15-year integrated Arriva Trains Wales/Trenau Arriva Cymru franchise, providing inter-urban, rural and commuter passenger rail services throughout Wales and the English border counties

The Arriva Trains Wales network stretches from Manchester, through north and south Wales and across to Birmingham and Gloucester – over 1,000 miles of track in total.

We focus on delivering continuous improvement, listening to our customers, and working with stakeholders to ensure our franchises have the resources they need to respond to growing demand. For instance, we are investing £1.25 million in improvements to Chester Station, a major hub.

We work with the Welsh Assembly Government to obtain funding for service improvements. Recent projects include:

  • £1 million for station improvements in north Wales.
  • £2 million investment in CCTV for our entire train fleet.
  • Improvements to Cardiff Bay Station, and more services from Cardiff Bay.
  • £50 million investment over the life of the franchise to fund additional rolling stock to accommodate high demand on the Valley Line network.
  • Eleven modern Coradia trains introduced on routes between Cardiff and Holyhead, and West Wales and Manchester.

We are also improving our service through our new timetable, which has resulted in:

  • 950 extra services a week across the network.
  • 1,000 extra seats a day on peak-time Cardiff Valley services.

Meanwhile, local residents are helping us improve the travelling environment through our ‘Adopt a Station' initiative. To date, 140 of our 190 unstaffed stations are being monitored by local people, who receive travel vouchers in return.

Accessibility at Arriva Trains Wales/Trenau Arriva Cymru

CrossCountry

In November 2007 Arriva began operating a nine-year franchise on the CrossCountry network - the most extensive rail franchise in the UK.

Stretching from Aberdeen to Penzance, and from Stansted to Cardiff, it covers around 1,500 route miles and calls at over 100 stations.

Arriva operates the franchise under a new CrossCountry brand and livery. The centre of our CrossCountry operations are in Birmingham, at the heart of the network and the largest city served by it.

CrossCountry’s innovations, which are planned for introduction in the first two years of the franchise, feature the following benefits for travellers:

  • 35 per cent increase in seating capacity in critical evening peak on principal routes
  • at-seat catering on all routes, for all passengers, not just First Class
  • radical improvements in ticketing and reservation booking, including home printing of tickets and tickets by mobile phone, with discounted tickets available much closer to the start of travel
  • investment in improved rolling stock, with all other trains refurbished to the standard of the popular Voyagers
  • the reintroduction of HSTs to provide 550-seat trains on busy routes
  • Wi-Fi available to all Voyager and HST passengers, free in First Class.

Accessibility at CrossCountry

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