Arriva UK Bus is a major bus operator in the United Kingdom based in Sunderland, England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva which runs transport services across Europe, which was a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn from 2010. In October 2023, Deutsche Bahn agreed terms to sell Arriva to I Squared Capital with the transaction completed in June 2024. This included Arriva UK Bus.
Arriva UK Bus operates 793 buses in the North East, North West, South East, Yorkshire & the Humber, West Midlands, East Midlands, Greater London and Wales. It employs 16,000 people.Arriva appoints Kevin O'Connor as Managing Director, UK Bus Arriva 14 January 2015
Divisions Arriva's bus network in the UK originates from its acquisition of Grey-Green in 1980 and British Bus in August 1996.The Arriva London Story Arriva LondonOverview Arriva It has the following operating units: Network Information Arriva Buses Wales Separated from Arriva North West & Wales in January 2009. Arriva London Arriva London North and South. Regulated by Transport for London. Arriva Midlands Arriva Derby, Arriva Midlands East and Arriva Midlands North Arriva Herts & Essex Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex Arriva Southern Counties Arriva Colchester, Arriva Kent & Surrey, Arriva Kent Thameside, Arriva Southend Arriva North East Arriva Durham County & Arriva Northumbria. Originally included Arriva Teesside and Arriva Tees and District which were brought under the Durham County Division. Arriva North West Arriva Merseyside & Arriva North West Arriva Yorkshire All five Yorkshire based depots now operate under Arriva Yorkshire Limited Green Line Operates express coach services between London and the Home Counties
Former divisions Wardle Transport (later including D&G Bus) sold to D&G Bus in 2015 Arriva Scotland West sold to McGill's Bus Services in March 2012"Arriva exits Scotland with Sale to McGill's" Bus & Coach Professional 14 December 2011Bus firm McGill's to take over rivals Arriva BBC News 13 December 2011 The Original Tour sold to RATP Group in September 2014RATP Dev acquires leading London sightseeing operator RATP Dev Tellings-Golden Miller sold to management in 2016History Tellings-Golden Miller Yorkshire Tiger sold to Transdev Blazefield in 2021
Branding The current corporate livery is called "Journey Mark" and was initially rolled out on newly ordered vehicles from 2017 onwards. Older vehicles in non-current liveries were gradually updated on an as-needed basis. The base paint shade of light blue was darkened in 2026, with e-leather seats also being replaced with an updated moquette material, with buses gradually being refurbished over time.
Arriva London buses operating services for Transport for London are painted red. Yorkshire Tiger buses were painted in an orange livery and Tiger Blue blue. New Enterprise Coaches retains its existing white and red livery.
In some regions, premium services were operated under the Sapphire brandHome Arriva Sapphire while interurban services were operated under the Max brand.Max - new inter-urban express services from Arriva Arriva In 2022, Arriva started to phase out the Sapphire and Max brand nationally, with the majority of buses being repainted into the standard Arriva livery or replaced with new buses.
References