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 |
| Website | Website |
Arriva Sapphire was a luxury brand used by various Arriva bus subsidiaries in the United Kingdom.
History
[edit]
In February 2013, Arriva UK Bus announced that it would launch a Luxury service under the Sapphire brand for its bus services in the United Kingdom.[1] It is similar to the Stagecoach Gold brand launched by Stagecoach Group in 2007.
Arriva initially launched the Sapphire brand on four pilot 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]
In 2014, the brand was extended to 11 more routes with another six scheduled for conversion in late 2015.[7][8][9]
In 2017, Arriva Sapphire was rebranded with a new logo and livery, in line with the switchover to the new Arriva brand. In 2018, the Arriva Sapphire logo was updated again, to reflect the new brand.[10]
In 2019, Arriva Midlands routes 1, 2, 2E running between Walsall and Cannock/Huntington were downgraded to regular buses after six years of Sapphire. Further routes across the country have since been withdrawn or removed from the Sapphire brand.
In 2022, Arriva started to phase out the Sapphire brand nationally, with the majority of buses being repainted into the standard Arriva livery or 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
[edit]| Service no. | Route start | Route end | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arriva North East | ||||
| 5/5A | Middlesbrough | Easington | Route removed from the Sapphire brand in 2022, with the repaint of existing buses into standard livery. | |
| 6 | Durham | Bishop Auckland and Cockfield | Route removed from the Sapphire brand in 2022, with the repaint of existing buses into standard livery. | |
| 22 | Durham | Sunderland | Route removed from the Sapphire brand in 2022, with the repaint of existing buses into standard livery. | |
| 23 | Sunderland | Hartlepool | Route removed from the Sapphire brand in 2022, with the repaint of existing buses into standard livery. | |
| 24 | Durham | Hartlepool | Route removed from the Sapphire brand in 2022, with the repaint of existing buses into standard livery. | |
| X21/X22 | Newbiggin and Ashington | Newcastle-upon-Tyne | Routes removed from the Sapphire brand in 2022, with the introduction of new buses and repaint of existing buses into standard livery. | |
| 43 | Morpeth | Newcastle-upon-Tyne | Route removed from the Sapphire brand, with the allocation now formed of buses in various liveries and specifications. | |
| 44/45 | Dinnington | Newcastle-upon-Tyne | Routes removed from the Sapphire brand, with the allocation now formed of buses in various liveries and specifications. | |
| Arriva North West | ||||
| 38 | Crewe | Macclesfield | Arriva North West ceased operating service in April 2023, route now operated by D&G Bus | |
| 362 | Chorley | Wigan | Arriva North West ceased operating the route in September 2023, now operated by Go North West under the Bee Network franchising system. Buses branded for this route were transferred 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 ceased operating the route in September 2023, now operated by Go North West under the Bee Network franchising system. Buses branded for this route were transferred to Wythenshawe Depot and Hemel Hempstead, and can be seen operating various Arriva routes in South Manchester and Hertfordshire. | |
| 263 | Manchester | Altrincham | Route effectively removed from the Sapphire brand in September 2023, with existing buses being withdrawn from service and replaced by a variety of Sapphire and non-Sapphire buses cascaded from 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[15] | Bluewater | Chatham | Buses repainted into Arriva Journey Mark, route now uses any suitable vehicle. | |
Vehicles
[edit]Buses had leather seats, free WiFi, power ports, and a modified two tone blue livery. The initial pilot routes commenced with a mix of refurbished double deck buses and new Wright Pulsar bodied VDL SB200s.[1][16] Mostly since then, new buses had been purchased, primarily Alexander Dennis Enviro400s, Wright StreetLites and Wright StreetDecks.[9] A number of Wright Pulsar/Pulsar 2 vehicles had been refurbished to operate Sapphire routes.[17] In 2020 a selection of Optare Versas in Yorkshire were repainted into the new Arriva Sapphire livery.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "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.
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ "We're upgrading the Chatham to Bluewater 700 services to join our select family of premium Sapphire routes". Arriva. Archived from the original on 20 October 2018.
- ^ "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.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Arriva Sapphire at Wikimedia Commons- "Arriva Sapphire". Arriva.
