Arriva has announced a £340 million investment that will see 809 new buses join its regional and London fleets and the refurbishment of more than 150 existing vehicles. Upgrades to the group’s property portfolio will also be made under the programme.
Over half of the new vehicles will be zero-emission. 502 of those are for regional operations and 307 are for Arriva London. Together with the refurbishment work, vehicles account for a spend of £310 million. The group will put £30 million into its property portfolio, which it says is in addition to continued investment in depot electrification work.
Alexander Dennis is the largest beneficiary of the new vehicle order. It is supplying 221 buses into regional operations and 30 into London for a total of 251. BYD is building 191 vehicles for the capital and 39 for use regionally.
The Volvo/MCV partnership will deliver 124 buses into regional fleets and 72 to London, while Wrightbus will build 118 for the regions and 14 for the capital. Of the overall procurement, the regions will see 322 new single-decks and 180 double-decks. For London, those totals are 23 and 284, respectively.
The first phase of rollout of the new buses is already underway. That includes 50 Alexander Dennis models for Arriva Yorkshire that are in the process of entering service. The group says that almost 20% of its regional bus fleet will be replaced within 18 months under the scheme.
Arriva UK Bus Managing Director Martijn Gilbert – who joined the group in 2025 – adds that the new vehicle and refurbishment programme “will transform our operations across the UK to the benefit of both customers and colleagues.”
Every UK region where Arriva operates will benefit from the investment. Once it is complete, depots in Thurmaston in Leicestershire, Dartford in Kent and Palmers Green and Thornton Heath in London will become fully battery-electric. Brixton Tram Shed depot in London is already 100% zero-emission.
Other work is in hand for Blyth, Darlington, Durham and Tamworth as part of an eight-depot roster for electrification preparation works.
