Arriva orders nearly 90 new zero-emission buses for its London operations

Bus operator Arriva announces news from London as it gains two new routes and retains contracts for another seven. This is alongside purchases of 87 new electric buses joining the growing fleet in the British capital, where Arriva is also busy building new charging depots. (UPDATE BELOW)

The order over 87 new electric buses comprises 76 double-deckers and 11 single-deckers. Arriva did not disclose a delivery timeline nor where it placed the order. Looking at previous news, Wrightbus could supply some, if not all, of the 87 electric buses.

Overall, Arriva runs 100 bus routes for TfL in London and has 14 depots for its growing fleet of electric buses, which will soon comprise 230 ZEB.

As for the depots, the company is converting its Thornton Heath garage in Croydon to fully electrified, giving it additional zero-emission capability in South London for over 100 buses. This follows the electrification of its Brixton Tramshed in November 2021, from where Arriva operates 35 fully electric buses.

Arriva Group is owned by Deutsche Bahn and runs as Arriva Bus UK on the Isles and, more specifically, Arriva London in this case. As such, Transport for London (TfL) awarded Arriva two new bus routes and extended existing contracts of seven.

The two new routes will start operating from August 2024, and together with the seven retained routes, Arriva expects revenues of over £200 million over the term of the contracts.

Jens Abromeit, Managing Director of Arriva UK Bus and Arriva Board member, said: “Growing the number of routes we operate is a growth story for London, and we can’t wait to welcome the new fully electric buses, growing the size of our zero-emission fleet in London to nearly 230”.

Marcos Hart, Managing Director of Arriva London, added: “The new vehicles represent a fantastic milestone on our journey to operate a greener bus network across London, and it’s really exciting news for us as a business and for our customers.”

Arriva UK Bus claims to be the third-largest provider of bus services in regional markets outside London with rural, urban and inter-urban services. In London, it is one of the market leaders, operating around 17% of all bus services in the capital.

Update 09 February 2024

Bus operator Arriva has now made it official that it has commissioned Wrightbus to supply 87 new electric buses for use in London. Wrightbus is expected to hand over a total of 76 StreetDeck Electroliner electric double-deckers and eleven GB Kite Electroliner electric solo buses to Arriva from July 2024, which will be used on several routes around the British capital.

arriva.co.uk, wrightbus.com (update)