Arriva bus order for 2015

[Metroline1511]

Arriva bus order for 2015
Courtesy of busandcoachweek.com I have seen the bus order for Arriva in 2015-16 as below. What is significant is more Enviro 400s for the North West, again displacing modern single-deckers, presumably Pulsar 2s, elsewhere.

Alexander Dennis has won the major share of Arriva’s latest fleet order including 100 per cent of the double-deck order of 165 buses. Arriva announced an investment programme worth more than £45million with Wrightbus also gaining a significant share and Optare winning an order for six Solos.

In total, ADL will be supplying 165 Enviro400 double-decks and 16 of the new Enviro200 single-decks. Wrightbus is supplying 50 StreetLites.

The first 62 Enviro400s - Euro 5s - will go into service across Arriva’s north west network and will feature free wi-fi, e-leather seating and CCTV. The deployment in the region is designed to increase capacity and the vehicles will replace a number of one- and two-year-old single-deck buses for refurbishment and redeployment elsewhere across the network in the midlands, south east and north east. A further 47 Enviro400s will enter service in the north west in the latter half of the year.

In the autumn, Arriva will launch six premium Sapphire and two interurban express MAX routes with a further 56 Euro 6 Enviro400s.

“Since its launch, Sapphire has exceeded our expectations in terms of both patronage and revenue, and plays a pivotal role in our ongoing investment strategy,” says Mark Yexley, operations and commercial director for Arriva UK Bus. “As Sapphire continues to perform well across all the routes on which it operates, we feel that both refreshing the existing fleet as well as instigating further launches will serve as an extra incentive to passengers demanding something a little different from their transport providers.

“The Enviro400s have already performed well where previously introduced by Arriva, thanks to their excellent low-weight, robust designs and powerful, economic six-cylinder Cummins EEV engines which deliver reliable low carbon emissions. We have invested nearly £500million into fleet renewal since 2008 and with the introduction of these new buses, along with the other vehicles we’re procuring this year, we are clearly highlighting our commitment to both tackling the environmental challenges we face as a transport provider in the 21st century, whilst ensuring our customers can enjoy efficient, affordable transport.”

A further 28 Euro 5 Wrightbus StreetLite Max buses, built to Sapphire specification including e-leather seating, power points and extra leg room, will be used on Durham’s route 6 and in Northfleet.

The order also includes 12 Wrightbus Hybrid StreetLite Midi vehicles for Southern Counties.

Arriva’s Wrexham, Rhyl, and Luton depots will take the new Enviro200 midibuses which include an automated manual transmission (AMT) which ADL says reduces fuel consumption and emissions by around 13 per cent, on par with hybrids.

Colin Robertson, ADL chief executive says: “We are delighted to have won 80 per cent of this huge investment by Arriva. This latest order means that we have secured 100 per cent of Arriva’s double-deck fleet replacement programme since late 2013, representing 300 vehicles.

“In addition, Arriva will also be among the first operators in the world to introduce our revolutionary new midibus.”


Arriva 2015 orders

• 165 ADL Enviro400
• 11 ADL Enviro200
• 12 Wrightbus 10.8m StreetLite Midi Hybrid
• 34 Wrightbus 11.5m StreetLite Max Hybrid
• 4 Wrightbus 8.8m StreetLite Micro Hybrid
• 6 Optare 8.8m Solo