Arriva Max Explained
Arriva Max is a premium brand used by various Arriva bus subsidiaries in the United Kingdom.
History
In September 2014, Arriva launched the Max brand for interurban express services. The first services were launched by Arriva North East, which is cited as the creator and home of the brand (alongside jointly managed Arriva Yorkshire), with routes X10 and X11 from Newcastle to Blyth using refurbished double-deck vehicles.[1] [2] [3]
The brand was additionally rolled out by Arriva Buses Wales, Arriva Shires & Essex and Arriva Southern Counties, all of which have since discontinued the brand. Arriva North East and Arriva Yorkshire increased the number of Max branded routes within their regions. Most of the new routes were launched with Titan the Robot, to celebrate and create interest in each upgrade.[4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
The Max brand has been scaled back significantly in recent years as part of the Arriva rebrand, however some routes were withdrawn or were upgraded with new standard or refurbished Arriva Sapphire buses.
Routes
According to the Arriva website and Google Maps, there are 13 remaining Arriva Max routes.
Arriva North East
Arriva Yorkshire
Arriva Wales
Former routes
Arriva Southern Counties
Arriva The Shires
Arriva North East
- X1 - Darlington to Crook via Bishop Auckland, removed from the MAX brand with buses now carrying the Arriva logo in its place.
- X7/X8 - Newcastle to Blyth via Quorum Business Park, removed from the MAX brand with buses now carrying the Arriva logo in its place.
- X9/X10/X11 - Newcastle to Blyth via Cramlington, removed from the MAX brand with buses now carrying the Arriva logo in its place.
- X14 - Newcastle to Thropton via Morpeth, removed from the MAX brand following delivery of new buses in the standard livery.
- X15/X18 - Newcastle to Berwick via Morpeth and Alnwick, removed from the MAX brand following delivery of new buses in the standard livery.
- X16 - Newcastle to Kirkhill Estate via Morpeth, withdrawn and replaced in part by an extended route 2.
- X20 - Newcastle to Alnwick via Ashington, removed from the MAX brand following delivery of new buses in the standard livery.
- X67 - Darlington to Middlesbrough, withdrawn and replaced with revised route X66.
- X93/X94 - Middlesbrough to Scarborough via Whitby, removed from the MAX brand following refurbishment and rebrand of existing vehicles and is now a part of the sapphire brand.
- 308 - Newcastle to Blyth, following a change in vehicle allocation, the initial vehicles (Wright Gemini 2-bodied Volvo B5LHs) were transferred to Arriva Yorkshire, in return for unrefurbished Wright Gemini 2-bodied VDL DB300s which were later refurbished to the new standard Arriva livery and specification.
Arriva Yorkshire
Vehicles
Max branded vehicles have leather seats, free WiFi and a modified livery, some also include charging points (standard from early-2016), furthermore some buses also include air conditioning. Initially only refurbished vehicles were used with Arriva North East and Arriva Yorkshire opting for Wright Gemini 2 bodied VDL DB300s.
Since then, Arriva North East have also refurbished Scania OmniCitys and Alexander Dennis Enviro400s and more recently have purchased brand new stock in the form of further Alexander Dennis Enviro400s, Wright StreetLites and Volvo B9TLs. Meanwhile, Arriva Yorkshire has refurbished a mixture of Wright Gemini 2/VDL DB300s and Alexander Dennis Enviro400s as well as purchasing new Alexander Dennis Enviro400s. Elsewhere, Arriva Herts & Essex have refurbished Mercedes-Benz Citaros while Arriva Buses Wales have refurbished Wright Pulsar bodied VDL SB200s.
See also
Notes and References
- https://cbwmagazine.com/arriva-goes-max/ Arriva goes Max
- https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/north-east/Latest/maximum-impact-launch-of-max/ Maximum Impact: Max comes to Northumberland
- http://www.busandcoachbuyer.com/arriva-north-east-launches-first-max-route/ Arriva North East launches first MAX route
- http://www.busandcoachbuyer.com/sapphire-deeside/ Sapphire on Deeside
- https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/about-us/max--new-inter-urban-express-services-from-arriva/ Max - new interurban express services from Arriva
- http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/top-stories/video-titan-the-robot-entertains-crowds-at-arriva-bus-route-event-1-7176759 Titan the robot entertains crowds at Arriva bus route event
- http://www.route-one.net/industry/arriva-max-brand-launches-in-leeds/ Arriva Max brand launches in Leeds
- http://www.busandcoachbuyer.com/arriva-max-yorkshire/ More Arriva Max in Yorkshire
- http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/12918523.Titan_takes_bus_travel_to_the_MAX/ Titan takes bus travel to the Max
- http://www.busandcoachbuyer.com/arrivas-new-look-southend/ Arriva’s new look in Southend
- Web site: Arriva to withdraw Service 5. Leigh Times. 9 January 2017. 27 August 2016.
- http://www.essexhighways.org/uploads/files/Bus_Passenger_News_September_2016.pdf Bus Passenger News September/October 2016
