 | |
 | |
| 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.
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]
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 Further routes across the country have since been withdrawn or removed from the Sapphire brand.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.
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 |
| 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. | |
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.
Arriva Southern Counties Limited, trading as Arriva Southern Counties, is a bus operator in Kent, Essex, Hemel Hempstead, and Watford in England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus.
The Alexander Dennis Enviro400 is a twin-axle low-floor double-decker bus that was built by the British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis between 2005 and 2018. It replaced the Alexander ALX400. In 2014, the Enviro400 was succeeded by the updated Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC and production of the classic Enviro400 ceased in 2018.
The Wright Eclipse Gemini is a low-floor double-decker bus body that was built by Wrightbus since 2001, based on the single-decker Wright Eclipse design. The second-generation Eclipse Gemini 2 was launched in 2009, followed by the third-generation Gemini 3 in 2013. Additionally, the body was available on Volvo Super Olympian chassis in Hong Kong between 2003 and 2005, marketed as the Wright Explorer.
Arriva Yorkshire is a major bus operator providing services primarily within and across West Yorkshire, although it also provides service in some parts of South Yorkshire, East Riding of Yorkshire and southern areas of North Yorkshire. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus.
Arriva North East operates both local and regional bus services in County Durham, Northumberland, North Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear, England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus, which operates bus and coach services across the United Kingdom.
TrawsCambria was a network of medium and long-distance express bus routes in Wales sponsored by the Welsh Government.
Arriva Kent Thameside Limited, trading as Arriva Kent Thameside, formerly known as London Transport, London Country and Kentish Bus, is a bus operator based in north-west Kent, England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus. The company operates services in Northfleet, Gravesend & Dartford as part of the Arriva Southern Counties division from their Northfleet depot.
Stagecoach (South) Limited, trading as Stagecoach South, is a bus operator providing services in South East England as a subsidiary of Stagecoach. It operates services in Hampshire, Surrey, and Sussex with some routes extending into Brighton and Wiltshire. It operates 487 buses from eight depots.
The Wright Pulsar Gemini is a design of double-decker bus bodywork built onto VDL DB250LF chassis by Wrightbus between 2003 and 2006. It was visually almost identical to the Wright Eclipse Gemini that was mounted on the Volvo B7TL and later Volvo B9TL chassis.
MK Metro was a bus company operating in Milton Keynes from 1997 until 2010.
Arriva Guildford & West Surrey Limited, which traded as Arriva Guildford & West Surrey, was a bus operator based in Guildford, England. It was a subsidiary of Arriva. The company operated services in West Sussex and Surrey, as part of the Arriva Southern Counties division. Services that were run were primarily centred on hubs at Guildford, Woking and Cranleigh.
United Counties Omnibus was an English bus company, operating in Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, and parts of surrounding counties.
Team Pennine operates both local and regional bus services in West Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Blazefield, which operates bus services across Greater Manchester, Lancashire, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire.
Arriva Buses Wales is a bus operator providing services in northern Wales and Chester in northern England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus.
Buses in Milton Keynes are run by a mixture of operators on a network of urban and rural routes in and around the Milton Keynes urban area. These services have a varied history involving five different companies. At the foundation of the 'New City' in 1967 and for some years afterwards, Milton Keynes was served by a rural bus service between and to the pre-existing towns. Apart from a small-scale experimental service, urban buses arrived on the scene with deregulation in 1986. Since April 2010 the core local services have been provided by Arriva Shires & Essex. Long-distance coach services also serve MK, often via the Milton Keynes Coachway located near junction 14 of the M1 motorway.
The Wright StreetLite is a low-floor midibus introduced by Wrightbus in 2010. It was originally available in only one body style before the door forward and StreetLite Max variants were introduced in 2011 and 2012 respectively. Production of all variants of the StreetLite was briefly suspended due to Wrightbus entering administration in September 2019, with complete removal from the product line in 2024.
TrawsCymru is the brand name for a network of regional bus services in Wales, sponsored by the Welsh Government. It was introduced as a replacement for the TrawsCambria network.
The Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC, also marketed as the Alexander Dennis Enviro200, is a single-decker city bus produced by Alexander Dennis since 2014 as the successor to the Enviro200 midibus and Enviro300 full-size bus. The first Enviro200 MMCs entered service with National Express West Midlands in 2015. Notably, Enviro200 MMCs have been modified by Fusion Processing to be used as the basis for the first driverless bus trials in the United Kingdom.
Arriva Max was a premium brand used by various Arriva bus subsidiaries in the United Kingdom.
The Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC is a low-floor double-decker bus produced by the British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis since 2014, replacing the Alexander Dennis Enviro400. The Enviro400 MMC is produced at Alexander Dennis' Falkirk and Scarborough factories in the United Kingdom.
Media related to Arriva Sapphire at Wikimedia Commons