Arriva Sapphire
 | |
| Parent | Arriva |
|---|---|
| Founded | April 2013 |
| Service type | Luxury bus |
| Routes | 29 (July 2024) |
| Operator | Arriva Buses Wales Arriva Midlands Arriva North East Arriva North West Arriva Shires & Essex Arriva Southern Counties Arriva Yorkshire |
| Web site | Website |
Arriva Sapphire was a luxury brand used by different Arriva bus companies in the United Kingdom.
History
[change | change source]In February 2013, Arriva UK Bus announced that it would launch a luxury service called Sapphire for its bus services in the United Kingdom.[1]
Arriva launched the Sapphire brand on four routes:[2]
- Arriva Buses Wales' route 1 Wrexham to Chester[3]
- Arriva Midlands' route 31/31a Oadby to Leicester[4] this route now uses any vehicles
- Arriva North East's route 7 Darlington to Durham[5]
- Arriva Shires & Essex's route 280 Aylesbury to Oxford[6]
From 2014 to 2015, seventeen routes were added to the Sapphire brand[7][8][9]
In 2017, the Arriva Sapphire logo and bus livery was improved. In 2018, the Arriva Sapphire logo was improved again.[10]
In 2019, Arriva Midlands routes 1, 2, 2E from Walsall to Cannock/Huntington were changed to normal buses. Many routes around the country have been removed from the Sapphire brand.
In 2022, Arriva started to remove the Sapphire brand, the buses were painted into the normal Arriva livery or they were replaced with new buses.
Routes
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As of July 2024, there were 29 Arriva Sapphire routes.
| Service no. | Route start | Route end |
|---|---|---|
| Arriva Buses Wales | ||
| 1 | Wrexham | Chester[3] |
| 12/X12 | Rhyl | Llandudno |
| 10/10A | Connah's Quay / Flint | Chester |
| Arriva North East | ||
| 1/5/5A/X1 | Darlington | Bishop Auckland, Crook and Tow Law |
| 3/X3/X3A/X4 | Middlesbrough | Lingdale, Skelton, Loftus and Whitby |
| 7 | Darlington | Durham[5] |
| Arriva Shires & Essex | ||
| 5/6 | Lakes Estate | Wolverton |
| 133 | Colchester & Braintree | Stansted Airport |
| Arriva Southern Counties | ||
| 480 | Temple Hill | Gravesend |
| 490/491 | Gravesend | Valley Drive or Riverview Park |
| Arriva Yorkshire | ||
| 110 | Leeds | Wakefield[11] |
| 163 | Leeds | Castleford via Garforth and Kippax |
| 168 | Leeds | Castleford via Woodlesford |
| 229 | Leeds | Huddersfield via Birstall and Heckmondwike |
| 231/232 | Wakefield | Huddersfield via Lepton, Flockton, Overton and Horbury |
| 415 | York | Selby via York Designer Outlet |
Former services
[change | change source]| Service no. | Route start | Route end | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arriva North East | ||||
| 5/5A | Middlesbrough | Easington | Route removed from the Sapphire brand in 2022, buses were painted into normal livery. | |
| 6 | Durham | Bishop Auckland and Cockfield | Route removed from the Sapphire brand in 2022, buses were painted into normal livery. | |
| 22 | Durham | Sunderland | Route removed from the Sapphire brand in 2022, buses were painted into normal livery. | |
| 23 | Sunderland | Hartlepool | Route removed from the Sapphire brand in 2022, buses were painted into normal livery. | |
| 24 | Durham | Hartlepool | Route removed from the Sapphire brand in 2022, buses were painted into normal livery. | |
| X21/X22 | Newbiggin and Ashington | Newcastle-upon-Tyne | Route removed from the Sapphire brand in 2022, buses were painted into normal livery. | |
| 43 | Morpeth | Newcastle-upon-Tyne | Route removed from the Sapphire brand, buses were painted into normal livery. | |
| 44/45 | Dinnington | Newcastle-upon-Tyne | Route removed from the Sapphire brand, buses were painted into normal livery. | |
| Arriva North West | ||||
| 38 | Crewe | Macclesfield | Arriva North West stopped operating service in April 2023, route now operated by D&G Bus | |
| 362 | Chorley | Wigan | Arriva North West stopped operating the route in September 2023, now operated by Go North West under the Bee Network franchising system. Buses branded for this route were sent to Wythenshawe Depot and Hemel Hempstead, and can be seen operating various Arriva routes in South Manchester and Hertfordshire. | |
| 575 | Wigan | Bolton | Arriva North West stopped operating the route in September 2023, now operated by Go North West under the Bee Network franchising system. Buses branded for this route were sent to Wythenshawe Depot and Hemel Hempstead, and can be seen operating various Arriva routes in South Manchester and Hertfordshire. | |
| 263 | Manchester | Altrincham | Route removed from the Sapphire brand in September 2023, buses were withdrawn from service and replaced by a variety of Sapphire and non-Sapphire buses from the Bolton Depot, which has been shut down due to the introduction of the Bee Network. | |
| Arriva Yorkshire | ||||
| 166 | Leeds | Castleford | Route withdrawn and replaced in part by revised routes 163 and 164. | |
| 167 | Leeds | Castleford | Route withdrawn and replaced in part by revised route 168. | |
| Arriva Midlands | ||||
| 31/31A/31E | Haymarket Bus Station, Leicester | Oadby Grange & Coombe Rise | Services 31/31E now operated by standard buses. Service 31A was ceased in March 2020 until January 2023 when it was reinstated | |
| X3 | Leicester City Centre | Market Harborough | Frequency reduced and Sapphire buses moved elsewhere in 2021. | |
| X84 | St Margaret's Bus Station | Rugby via Lutterworth | Mainly being used on normal buses, however sometimes Sapphire branded buses are used. | |
| 38 | Derby Bus Station | Sinfin | Vehicles repainted into standard Arriva livery in early 2022. | |
| 110 | Tamworth | Birmingham[12] | Route removed from the Sapphire brand in 2022, with the repaint of existing buses into standard livery. | |
| 158 | Leicester | Hinckley-Nuneaton via Earl Shilton & Barwell | Vehicles are being repainted from January 2023. | |
| Arriva The Shires | ||||
| 320 | Hemel Hempstead | Rickmansworth | Withdrawn on 17 April 2022 and replaced by new route 20 and extended route 321. | |
| 321 | Luton | Watford | Buses repainted into Arriva Standard Livery throughout 2021 and route declassified. | |
| 280 | Aylesbury | Oxford | Route replaced by routes X7 and X8.[13] | |
| X7/X8 | Aylesbury | Oxford | Routes withdrawn in July 2024.[14] | |
| Arriva Southern Counties | ||||
| 101 | Gillingham | Maidstone | Buses repainted into Arriva Journey Mark. | |
| 470 | Dartford | Gravesend | Route withdrawn and replaced by the revised route 480 | |
| 480A | Gravesend | Riverview Park | Route renumbered to 491 | |
| 490A | Gravesend | Singlewell, Valley Drive | Route renumbered to 490 | |
| 700 | Bluewater | Chatham | Buses repainted into Arriva Journey Mark, route now uses any suitable vehicle. | |
Buses
[change | change source]Buses had leather seats, free WiFi, power ports, and a blue livery.The first routes operated with old double deck buses and new VDL SB200s with Wright Pulsar bodywork .[1][15]
New routes were added and new buses had been ordered for the new routes, the buses were Alexander Dennis Enviro400s, Wright StreetLites and Wright StreetDecks.[9]
Some Wright Pulsar and Wright Pulsar 2 buses had been painted into Sapphire livery.[16]
In 2020 some Optare Versas in Yorkshire were painted into the new Arriva Sapphire livery.
Related pages
[change | change source]References
[change | change source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Arriva launches Sapphire upgrade". Bus and Coach Professional. Plum Publishing Ltd. 21 February 2013. Archived from the original on 4 January 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
- ↑ "Where We Operate". Arriva Sapphire. Arriva. Archived from the original on 1 May 2013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Commute with a little bit of sparkle thanks to Sapphire". North Wales Daily Post. Trinity Mirror. 29 April 2013.
- ↑ "Sapphire is jewel in the crown of Arriva services". Leicester Mercury. Trinity Mirror. 29 June 2013.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Sapphire launched in north east". Bus & Coach Buyer. AT Graphics Ltd. 11 December 2013.
- ↑ "Arriva launches third Sapphire scheme". Bus & Coach Buyer. AT Graphics Ltd. 25 July 2013.
- ↑ "11 new routes for Arriva's Sapphire". Route One. Diversified Communications UK. 9 July 2014.[permanent dead link]
- ↑ "Where We Operate". Arriva Sapphire.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "ADL in pole position as Arriva confirms 2015 orders". Bus and Coach Professional. Plum Publishing Ltd. 5 March 2015. Archived from the original on 4 January 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
- ↑ "We're upgrading the Chatham to Bluewater 700 services to join our select family of premium Sapphire routes". Arriva. 12 July 2017. Archived from the original on 20 October 2018.
- ↑ "Sparking in Leeds". Bus & Coach Buyer. AT Graphics Ltd. 21 April 2015.
- ↑ "Sapphire in Tamworth". Bus & Coach Buyer. AT Graphics Ltd. 16 October 2014.
- ↑ "Aylesbury service changes". arrivabus.co.uk. Arriva Buses UK. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
- ↑ "Proposed closure of Aylesbury and High Wycombe depots". Arriva Shires & Essex. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
- ↑ "Sapphire investment brings sparkle to bus services". Arriva. 20 June 2013.
- ↑ "Arriva North West & Wales – Initiatives for growth & quality". Bus & Coach Buyer. AT Graphics Ltd. 10 April 2014.
Other websites
[change | change source]
Media related to Arriva Sapphire at Wikimedia Commons- "Arriva Sapphire". Arriva.
