Arriva North West and Wales

Infobox Bus transit
name = Arriva North West and Wales

logo_size =

---

image_size =
image_caption = A VDL / Wright Pulsar in Llandudno
company_slogan =
parent = Arriva
founded = 2002
headquarters = Aintree
locale = North West
service_area = Merseyside, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Wales
service_type = Bus
alliance =
routes =
destinations =
stops =
hubs =
stations =
lounge =
fleet =
ridership =
fuel_type =
operator =
ceo =
website = [http://www.arrivabus.co.uk/ Arriva Bus website]

Arriva North West and Wales is a division of Arriva that operates bus services around North West England and Wales. It was made up from several previous bus operators including North Western (in Merseyside, Cheshire and Lancashire), most of MTL North (formerly Merseybus), the Bee Line Buzz Company (in Greater Manchester), and most of what was once Crosville Motor Services (in Cheshire and Wales).

The boundaries of its operating area are: west to Holyhead, south to Carmarthen (with a few journeys continuing to Cardiff), east to Macclesfield and Stockport, and north to Southport and Chorley.

History

[British Bus Publishing - "Arriva Bus Handbook 2008" History section.] In Autumn 1997 the Cowie Group plc renamed itself Arriva plc and like Stagecoach and FirstGroup plc a corporate image was introduced for its many and different bus operations. Outside of London this was a corporate livery of Aquamarine with a Cotswold stone (cream) swoop, "Arriva" branding and a strapline of the region the bus was operating in which for the former North Western operation was " serving the North West". In the Spring of 1998 Arriva decided to give an "Arriva" identity to the many companies which comprised Arriva Passenger Services and as a consequence North Western Road Car Co. Ltd became "Arriva North West Ltd" with the associated Bee Line and Liverline operations becoming "Arriva Manchester Ltd" and "Arriva Merseyside Ltd" (see later) respectively.

Apart from the change to Arriva identity not too much was different between Arriva North West and North Western as the 1990s drew to a close. In the late Summer of 1998 Arriva North West - rather than GMPTE interestingly, became responsible for the management of the bus station at the new Trafford Centre shopping mall. In 1999 Arriva North West did its first major acquisition of Winsford-based Nova Scotia Travel which allowed it to strengthen its operations from its Winsford depot considerably in and around the Vale Royal borough of Cheshire. However the Nova Scotia acquisition would soon prove small news to Arriva North West's future development which significantly changed as a consequence of the impending bankruptcy and sale of Merseyside's largest bus operator MTL Trust Holdings Ltd.

Acquisition of MTL Trust Holdings Ltd

On 18 February 2000 Arriva plc acquired Merseyside's largest bus operator MTL Trust Holdings Ltd. The former "Merseybus" operation and the many companies which were acquired or created by MTL were amalgamated by Arriva North West into a 'new' "Arriva Merseyside Ltd" with the former Arriva Merseyside Ltd (Liverline) becoming "Arriva Liverpool Ltd". As a consequence of Arriva's acquisition of MTL the management of the Arriva North West depot at Winsford was transferred to Arriva Midlands North Ltd.

Arriva's acquisition of MTL significantly increased its presence within Merseyside's bus market with the effect that Aintree based CMT Buses were its only meaningful competitor. This concerned the Competition Commission who ordered Arriva North West to sell one of its depots in order to avoid a public inquiry over its purchase of MTL. Gillmoss depot in north Liverpool was the depot chosen to be sold although its sale became a rather protracted affair. In early 2001 the Go-Ahead Group plc seemed ready to purchase Gillmoss considering it to have similar characteristics to its Go North East operation. However at the 11th hour this deal broke down and Go Ahead instead acquired Arriva Croydon & North Surrey Ltd merging it into its established Metrobus operation. Arriva North West put a proposal to the Competition Commission of substantial investment for Gillmoss if they withdrew their stipulation to sell the depot. However the Competition Commission refused this proposal and a buyer for Gillmoss had to be found.

Gillmoss was eventually purchased on 15 July 2001 by two former MTL managers - Dominic Brady and Ian Campbell who formed Glenvale Transport Limited (GTL). Furthermore the Competition Commission stipulated Arriva North West couldn't compete with GTL's core service network in North Liverpool and Kirkby for three years. GTL began expanding its service network against Arriva North West and in June 2003 acquired CMT Buses further strengthening its position, in Liverpool in particular. By 2004 the Competition Commission ban against Arriva North West competing with GTL was over and gradually copycat services were introduced on most of their routes. GTL, £7m in debt and with an aging bus fleet, was taken over on 11 July 2005 by the Stagecoach Group who renamed it Stagecoach Merseyside.

Relations between Arriva and Stagecoach on Merseyside seem reasonably cordial and from 2005 onwards both operators have gradually withdrawn most of the competing services against each other leaving Stagecoach to become the main operator in North Liverpool and Kirkby and Arriva North West & Wales the dominant operator in most of the rest of Merseyside.

Further developments and acquisitions

Arriva North West became responsible for the management of "Arriva Cymru Ltd" on 25 February 2002, and to reflect this, the name for this division of Arriva became "Arriva North West and Wales". Arriva North West and Wales expanded further when the Crewe, Macclesfield and Winsford depots of Arriva Midlands North Ltd were transferred to it on 1 February 2003 and this has enabled Arriva North West and Wales to assume control of much of what was Crosville Motor Services with the exception of the Rock Ferry - Birkenhead, Chester and Ellesmere Port (now closed) depots which are part of First Potteries' First Chester & The Wirral division.

It has also pursued acquisitions and on 2 August 2004 Liverpool based independent Merseyline Travel of Garston was acquired - perhaps to strengthen Arriva Merseyside's competitive moves against GTL before it was acquired by Stagecoach. In Greater Manchester it acquired one of the major independent operators in that region Blue Bus of Bolton enabling a good strategic fit with the Arriva Manchester operation and expansion into Bolton, Salford and Wigan.

Since 2000 Arriva North West and Wales has therefore become the largest division of Arriva Passenger Services.

The Wales depots are soon to be split from Arriva North West, with the two operations once again becoming separate subsidiaries.

Operating centres

The company has depots in:

*Aberystwyth - Park Avenue.
*Bangor - Llandygai Industrial Estate, Llandygai.
*Birkenhead - Laird Street.
*Bolton - Folds Road.
*Bootle - Hawthorne Road
*Chester - Manor Lane Industrial Estate, Manor Lane, Hawarden.
*Llandudno Junction - Glan-y-Mor Road.
*Macclesfield - Sunderland Street.
*Manchester - St Andrew's Square (near Manchester Piccadilly station).
*Rhyl - Ffynnongroew Road.
*Runcorn - Beechwood.
*St Helens - Jackson Street.
*Skelmersdale - Neverstitch Road.
*Speke (Liverpool) - Shaw Road (sometimes referred to as Woodend Avenue).
*Stoneycroft (Liverpool) - Green Lane.
*Southport - Canning Road.
*Winsford - Road Four, Winsford Industrial Estate.
*Wrexham - Berse Road, Caego.
*Wythenshawe (Manchester) - Greeba Road, Roundthorn Industrial Estate.

Fleet

The fleet consists of approximately 1,304 operational vehicles as of July 2008 [cite web |url=http://www.freewebs.com/busoperatorswirral/fleetlists.htm |title=Arriva North West & Wales fleetlist |accessdate=2008-07-24 |work=Wirral Bus Companies enthusiast website] , consisting of a wide variety of makes and types. The fleet is about 88% single-deck and 61% low-floor. Arriva stated its intention to make its main routes serving Liverpool completely low-floor by 2008, and the whole of Merseyside by 2011. [cite web |url=http://www.arriva.co.uk/arriva/en/media_centre/press_releases/2006/2006-03-01/ |title=Arriva calls for support to deliver its vision for Merseyside |accessdate=2007-11-18 |work=Arriva website ]

Recent deliveries have seen four Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Darts join the fleet in July 2008 for Park and Ride services in Southport, and ten Optare Solos in December 2007 for services around Manchester, Salford and Eccles. Prior to this, 166 new VDL SB120 and SB200 had entered the fleet between 2004 and 2007, joining an already sizeable fleet of DAF SB120 and SB220, and bringing the total number of low-floor DAF and VDL single deckers to 255. The majority feature Wright Cadet, Commander and Pulsar bodywork, although the East Lancs Myllennium, Alexander ALX300, Plaxton Centro and Plaxton Prestige bodies are also represented.

On the double-deck side of the fleet, an influx of 30 Volvo B7TL with Alexander ALX400 bodywork rejuvenated the double-deck fleet at Speke depot in 2006, these being supplemented by seven mid-life DAF DB250 with similar bodywork from Arriva London, and three Dennis Trident 2 with Plaxton President bodywork acquired with the Blue Bus business in Bolton.

Despite new deliveries, the most common vehicle type in the fleet remains the Dennis Dart SLF and its smaller variant the MPD, accounting for over 320 vehicles. There are also a sizeable number of older step-entrance Dennis Darts, bringing the total fleet of Darts to nearly 500. The low floor examples carry a mix of Plaxton Pointer, Marshall Capital and Alexander ALX200 bodywork; the step-entrance ones, a mixture of types including Plaxton Pointer, East Lancs EL2000 and Northern Counties Paladin.

Of note within the fleet are some unusual vehicles. The twelve Neoplan N4016, which normally operate service 18A from Liverpool to Croxteth Park, and three smaller Neoplan N4009 (currently stored out of use), are the only vehicles of their types in Britain. The fleet taken over from Blue Bus also contained some unusual types. The seven Ikarus Polaris bodies on DAF SB220 chassis account for a majority of those imported, and the Ikarus 481, of which three are owned, is also fairly uncommon in the UK.

Some open-top double-deckers are operated during the summer tourist season, mainly in Rhyl but also in Snowdonia and in Southport. They also see occasional use for special events, such as football victory parades. They include a Leyland Atlantean, a Bristol VR, four MCW Metrobuses, two Leyland Olympians and a Scania N113.

Fleet summary

ee also

*List of bus operators of the United Kingdom

References

External links

* [http://www.arrivabus.co.uk/ Arriva UK bus website]