It has been suggested that this article be merged into Arriva Southern Counties. (Discuss) Proposed since December 2024. |
Arriva Kent Thameside Limited,[1] 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.
 Wright StreetLite at Bluewater bus station in December 2014 | |
| Parent | Arriva Southern Counties |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Northfleet |
| Service area | Kent |
| Service type | Bus services |
| Routes | 10 |
| Destinations | 10 |
| Depots | 1 |
Depot and services
editNorthfleet
editNorthfleet depot runs a mixture of commercial and tendered services in Dartford, Gravesend and surrounding areas.
Bus services
editNorthfleet currently operate the following bus services:[2]
| Route | Start | End |
|---|---|---|
| 414 | Dartford[a] | Horton Kirby |
| 477 | Orpington | Bluewater |
| 480 | Temple Hill | Gravesend |
| 481 | Gravesend[b] | Riverview Park |
| 482 | Gravesend | Kings Farm |
| 483 | Bluewater | Gravesend |
| 489 | Gravesend | New Ash Green |
| 490 | Gravesend | Valley Drive |
| 491 | Gravesend | Riverview Park |
| 497 | Temple Hill | Ebbsfleet Academy |
ArrivaClick
editNorthfleet also run the ArrivaClick demand responsive service which covers Darent Valley Hospital, Bluewater, Greenhithe, Swanscombe and Ebbsfleet Valley[3] using Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vehicles.
Fleet
editAs of December 2024, the Arriva Kent Thameside fleet consists of approximately 50 vehicles.
The fleet consists of Wright StreetLite (both WF variant and DF), Plaxton Pointer, Caetano Nimbus, Alexander Dennis Enviro200 and Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC buses.
Livery
editCorporate Livery
edit
The current Arriva corporate livery is light blue across the whole of the vehicle with a pale blue and white stripe at the front of the bus.[4]
This is currently replacing the previous corporate livery which was aquamarine with a cream "cow-horn" at the front with a dark blue skirt. This livery can still be found on many older Arriva Kent Thameside vehicles.
Sapphire Livery
editThe current Arriva Sapphire livery uses the same light blue colour across the majority of the bus although the front of the bus is dark blue with a white and silver stripe separating the two colours. Arriva Kent Thameside operate Sapphire liveried buses on routes 480, 490 and 491.[5]
Fastrack
edit
As well as the corporate and Sapphire liveries, the buses used on the Fastrack routes A and B had their own specialist livery.
The buses used a purple base livery with a light and dark blue shimmer effect towards the rear with the Fastrack logo on the front, sides and rear of the bus.
The Fastrack services replaced route 100. The buses on this route used the specialist Bluewater livery in March 1999. This was allover blue, with a water shimmer effect. The service using this livery were replaced by Fastrack on 26 March 2006.[6] On 10 November 2024, Go-Ahead London took over the Fastrack routes which will introduce electric buses by April 2025.[7]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Limited school services continue to and from Wilmington Academy as routes 414A and 414B
- ^ Limited school services continue to and from Ebbsfleet International station
References
edit- ^ Companies House extract company no 2005266 Arriva Kent Thameside Limited
- ^ "Dartford and Thameside Network Map". Arriva Southern Counties. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ^ "Arriva launches ArrivaClick bus service for Ebbsfleet to get a bus to come to you". Kent Online. 29 November 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
- ^ "Rebranding Arriva". WPA Pinfold. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- ^ "Arriva Sapphire Services". Arriva Kent Thameside. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
- ^ "Arriva Kent Thameside 3273-3275: Bluewater Shuttles".
- ^ "Kent Thameside Fastrack is going electric". news.kent.gov.uk. 9 August 2024. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
External links
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