Press releases

Arriva plc, the transport services organisation which operates over 6,000 buses and two rail franchises in the UK, has announced the acquisition of a 49 per cent interest in Società Autoservizi F.V.G S.p.A (SAF), the operator of bus services in north-eastern Italy.

SAF's major activity is the operation of a bus contract in the Udine area that runs to December 2010. The company has some 600 employees and a fleet of nearly 500 vehicles delivering interurban and urban services. Arriva has the option to acquire a further 11 per cent interest in SAF by 31 December 2006.

Arriva first entered the Italian market in July 2002 with the acquisition of SAB, the country's largest private sector bus company, which also operates in the north of Italy, principally in the Lombardy region.

Bob Davies, Arriva's chief executive, said:

This is an excellent opportunity to develop our business in Italy, which has one of the largest public transport markets in Europe.

We are well-positioned to benefit from the growing opportunities in both the bus and rail sectors and we look forward to working with the management and employees of this successful business.

Following the announcement last month that it had entered the German rail market Arriva now has operations in eight member states of the European Union with significant positions in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal and Italy.

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Notes to editors

• Arriva is one of the UK's largest bus operators with over 6,000 buses. It operates in the North East, North West, and South East of England, Yorkshire, the Midlands, Wales and Scotland.
• Arriva also operates two rail franchises in the UK – Arriva Trains Wales and Arriva Trains Northern – and has rail operations in Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany.