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Bus operator in East Sussex, Kent and Essex
Arriva Southern Counties Limited,[1] trading as Arriva Southern Counties,[2] is a bus operator in Kent,[3] Essex, Hertfordshire, and Surrey in England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus, which is part of the Arriva group owned by Deutsche Bahn.[4] The company operates local[5] and interurban bus services[6][7] across its divisions,[8] including Arriva Kent Thameside, which serves north-west Kent.
Origins and early expansion[edit]Arriva Southern Counties traces its origins to the privatization of the National Bus Company in the 1980s. In November 1986, Maidstone & District was sold in a management buyout[9] to a newly formed company, Einkorn Limited.[10][11]
Einkorn expanded its operations through several key acquisitions:
In 1990, British Bus acquired the Alder Valley operations in Cranleigh, Guildford, and Woking. This was followed by the acquisitions of Colchester Borough Transport and Southend Transport in 1993.[17]
In April 1995, British Bus acquired Einkorn Limited,[18] which had become a significant regional operator. British Bus already owned Kentish Bus (acquired in 1994) and Londonlinks (acquired in 1988). Following the acquisition, Einkorn was renamed Invictaway in August 1995,[19][20] reviving a brand name previously used by Maidstone & District for London commuter services.
Cowie Group and rebranding[edit] Arriva Kent & Sussex bus 5916 (M916 MKM) at the M&D 100 rally in Detling, wearing a distinctive cream-and-dark blue livery highlighting Kent People's Trust branding. New to M&D in 1994, it remained in West Kent service until its preservation in 2013.In July to August 1996, the Cowie Group plc acquired British Bus,[21][22][23][24] which owned several bus companies in southern England, including Kentish Bus,[25] London & Country, and Maidstone & District,[26] all of which had previously been subsidiaries of British Bus.
In October 1997, Cowie Group announced it would change its name to Arriva plc,[27][28][29] as part of a strategic rebranding to unify its various transport businesses under a single identity.[30] The rebrand was approved by shareholders in November 6 1997,[31] and the new name reflected the company’s European ambitions and focus on integrated transport services.
As part of the subsequent rollout of the new branding, Invictaway, the legal name for the operations that included Maidstone & District and other southern subsidiaries[citation needed], was renamed Arriva Southern Counties in April 1998.[32] Around the same time, the operations of London & Country were also transferred into Arriva Southern Counties, under Arriva Guildford & West Surrey.[33]
The restructuring of former British Bus subsidiaries was carried out as follows:
Later restructuring saw Arriva Southern Counties take responsibility for:
Meanwhile, most of Arriva Croydon & North Surrey was transferred to Arriva London, the group's dedicated London bus division.
Key developments timeline[edit]Arriva Southern Counties operates a mix of local, interurban, and contracted bus services across Kent, Essex, and parts of Hertfordshire. Its divisions include:
The Arriva Kent Thameside division, based at Northfleet depot, operates the following bus services as of May 2025:
Arriva Kent Thameside Bus Services Route Start End 190 Gravesend Chatham 414 Dartford Horton Kirby 477 Orpington Dartford 480 Temple Hill Gravesend 481 Gravesend Riverview Park 482 Gravesend Kings Farm 483 Bluewater Gravesend 490 Gravesend Valley Drive 491 Gravesend Riverview ParkUntil December 31, 2024, Arriva Kent Thameside operated ArrivaClick,[43] a demand-responsive service covering Darent Valley Hospital, Bluewater, Greenhithe, Swanscombe, and Ebbsfleet Valley using Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vehicles.[44]
Medway Towns services[edit]Medway Towns run many services, served by Gillingham depot.
Until November 2024, Arriva Southern Counties, primarily through its Kent Thameside division, operated the Fastrack busway in Kent’s Thames Gateway for Kent County Council, Prologis, and Amazon. Services included:
Fastrack buses used a purple livery with a blue shimmer effect and Fastrack branding. Route B connected with Eurostar at Ebbsfleet International, offering free travel to Eurostar passengers. In 2008, Arriva trialed its “m-ticket” system on Fastrack. The network transferred to Go-Ahead London in November 2024, with electric buses introduced by April 2025. Fastrack replaced the Bluewater-liveried route 100 in March 2006, which featured an all-blue livery with a water shimmer effect.
A
Maidstone & Districtbus, number
5896(
Leyland Olympian), photographed on 1 October 1988
(JJD 574D), a long-wheelbase
AEC Routemaster, at the
Eastbourne bus rallyin July 1993.
MLL818, a London Country Green Line RF281, featuring an AEC Regal IV chassis with Metro-Cammell bodywork, photographed on 25 September 2022
Londonlinks bus AN264 (KPJ 264W) at the 2012 North Weald Bus Rally, photographed on 1 July 2012
C454GKE, a Leyland Olympian with ECW coach bodywork, originally 5454 with Maidstone & District for Invictaway services, photographed on 19 June 2017
5909 (K909 SKR), a Leyland Olympian with Northern Counties Palatine body, on Mount Pleasant Road, Tunbridge Wells, operating route 6.
Arriva Medway Towns 6419 (GN04 UEJ), a Volvo B7TL/TransBus ALX400, seen on Brooklands Road, Weybridge, operating a shuttle between Weybridge railway station and Mercedes-Benz World. The bus was part of Operation Overdrive in 2004.
Arriva Kent Thameside 3272 (R272 EKO), a Dennis Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointer 2, seen on London Road, Sevenoaks, at the bus stop outside Sevenoaks railway station on route 308.
Arriva Guildford & West Surrey 3944 (GK52 YVL), a DAF SB120/Wright Cadet, branded for routes 34/35, seen on route 26 at the University of Surrey.
Network Colchester 190 (KN52 NDX), a Dennis Trident/Alexander ALX400, seen outside Clacton Factory Outlet on 5 June 2011.
Network Harlow (Arriva-TGM) 3874 on Route 724, seen at Heathrow Central Bus Station on 8 March 2014.
Arriva Guildford & West Surrey 3122 (N542 TPK), a Dennis Dart/East Lancs EL2000, in Carfax, Horsham, West Sussex, on route 62, seen on 3 September 2008.
Arriva Southern Counties 6465 (GN61 JRU) on Route 492, in Bexleyheath, photographed on 29 December 2014
Media related to Arriva Southern Counties at Wikimedia Commons
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