Arriva Sapphire is a premium brand used by various Arriva bus subsidiaries in the United Kingdom.
History[]
In February 2013, Arriva announced that it would launch a premium service under the Sapphire brand for its bus services in the United Kingdom. It is similar to the Stagecoach Gold brand launched by Stagecoach in 2007.
Arriva initially launched the Sapphire brand on four pilot routes:
- Arriva Buses Wales' route 1 - Wrexham to Chester
- Arriva Midlands' route 31/31a - Oadby to Leicester
- Arriva North East's route 7 - Darlington to Durham
- Arriva Shires & Essex's route 280 - Aylesbury to Oxford
In 2014, the brand was extended to 11 more routes with another six scheduled for conversion in late 2015.
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.
In 2019, Arriva Midlands routes 1, 2, 2E running between Walsall and Cannock/Huntington were downgraded to regular buses after six years of Sapphire.
In 2020, Arriva Sapphire was rebranded with a new logo and livery, in line with the switchover to the new Arriva brand.
In recent years, Sapphire-spec buses have occasionally been run on non-Sapphire routes, and regular Arriva buses are also often run on Sapphire routes.
Routes[]
As of December 2020, there were 60 Arriva bus routes.
Route Number | Start | End |
---|---|---|
Arriva Buses Wales | ||
1 † | Wrexham | Chester |
12/X12 | Rhyl | Llandudno |
X4 | Mold | Ellesmere Port |
Arriva Midlands | ||
31/31 A/31 E † | Oadby Estates | Leicester |
38 | Stenson Fields | Derby |
110 | Tamworth | Birmingham |
158 | Leicester | Hinckley / Nuneaton |
X3 | Leicester | Market Harborough |
Arriva North East | ||
1/5/5A/X1 | Darlington | Bishop Auckland
Crook Tow Law |
3/X3/X3A/X4 | Middlesbrough | Lingdale
Skelton Loftus Whitby |
5/5A/X5 | Middlesbrough | Easington |
6 | Durham | Bishop Auckland
Cockfield |
7 † | Durham | Darlington |
22 | Durham | Sunderland |
23 | Sunderland | Hartlepool |
24 | Durham | Hartlepool |
43 | Newcastle | Morpeth |
44/45 | Newcastle | Dinnington |
X21/X22 | Newcastle | Newbiggin
Ashington |
Arriva North West | ||
38 | Crewe | Macclesfield |
130 | Manchester | Macclesfield |
263 | Manchester | Altrincham |
362 | Chorley | Wigan |
575 | Wigan | Bolton |
X1 | Liverpool | Windmill Hill |
Arriva Shires and Essex | ||
5/6 | Lakes Estate | Wolverton |
100/101 | Stevenage | Luton |
133 | Stansted Airport | Colchester
Braintree |
280/X8 † | Aylesbury | Oxford |
321 | Watford | Luton |
Arriva Southern Counties | ||
34/35 | Guildford | Camberley |
101 | Gillingham | Maidstone |
320 | Hemel Hempstead | Rickmansworth |
480/490 | Dartford | Valley Drive |
700 | Chatham | Bluewater |
Arriva Yorkshire | ||
110 | Leeds | Hall Green |
163/166 | Leeds | Castleford (via. Garforth) |
167/168 | Leeds | Castleford (via. Woodlesford) |
229 | Leeds | Huddersfield |
415 | York | Selby |
† = Route was used as a pilot route for the Sapphire brand.