Arriva Southend
Encyclopedia
Arriva Southend is a division of Arriva Southern Counties
, a subsidiary of transport group Arriva
which operates bus
services in and around the Southend-on-Sea
, Rochford
, Rayleigh
, Basildon
, and Thurrock
areas of Essex
. They operate most services east of Southend and a few services west of Southend, and compete to a limited extent with four other local operators with services in the same areas: First Essex
, NIBS, Regal Busways
, and Stephensons of Essex
.
). Southend Transport was sold by Southend Borough Council to the British Bus group in June 1993 for a reported £1, which in turn was taken over by the Cowie group.
Cowie was renamed Arriva
in August 1998 and Southend Transport was renamed Arriva serving Southend as part of this rebranding. Although the 'serving Southend' local identity caption has now been phased out, it can still be seen on the sides of some of their buses.
On January 28, 2000, the original Southend garage at 87 London Road dating from the foundation of Southend Corporation Transport was closed and demolished shortly afterwards, with a new one constructed in Short Street, Southend-on-Sea. The old London Road site is now occupied by a retail park
.
Arriva Southend had continued the service X1 coach service to London inherited from Southend Transport, latterly as the Green Line
721 service. In 2001 operation of route X1
was taken over by Stephensons of Essex
, which withdrew it in July 2008.
A restructuring in 2002 saw overall control of Arriva Colchester and Arriva Southend pass to Arriva Southern Counties
from Arriva East Herts & Essex
.
On 30 March 2008 both commercially run services from the Grays garage (routes 373 and 383) were withdrawn, with the buses used for these services moving to Southend garage. The Grays garage now only operates the Transport for London
(TfL) contracted services.
6 per passenger in 2005. On 21 January 2008 Southend Area Bus Users' Group and Councilor Steve Aylen successfully campaigned for improvements to route 6A after having been withdrawn in 2005. On 31 March 2008, service 7 was extended at the suggestion of Great Wakering Parish Council and the Rochford Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership, who are subsidising the service. The company trials the operation of new services to gauge service demand, and makes services permanent if there are enough passengers to support them being run.
It has also been criticised by Southend
Borough Council for the age of its bus fleet, as some of its buses are nearly 20 years old and many do not have low-floor, easy-access step-free entry which is important for older people, as Southend has an ageing population with the most senior citizens in the country, although most areas do not have full low-floor networks yet, and buses are built to have working lives of about 20 years. Arriva Southend did introduce some new Dennis Trident 2
Alexander
ALX400
low-floor double-decker buses branded for use on services 7 and 8 in 2000, but they were subseqeuently redistributed to Arriva Maidstone
and Arriva East Herts & Essex
in 2004/5 as Arriva decided that they were not getting enough passengers to justify their use. However, many of the older buses have now been replaced with more modern ones, and this process will continue over the next month to replace the remainder of the older double-deckers, although a few step entrance vehicles will remain.
Further criticism came from passengers when Arriva Southend and First Essex
decided to withdraw their "Day Rover" ticket, which allowed unlimited journeys on the day of purchase on buses operated by both companies regardless of which company issued the ticket, so day tickets can now only be used on the buses of the company issuing them. They replaced it with a more expensive "Octopus" ticket which is issued by and can be used on any buses operated by Arriva Southend, First Essex
, NIBS
, Regal Busways
and Stephensons of Essex
in the Southend, Rochford and Castle Point
districts, covering more bus operators and a wider area of Essex.
On 8 February 2009, Arriva reduced the frequency of services 7 and 8 to some areas, which angered some residents in Hockley and Hawkwell
, as it made it very difficult for them to get to and from Southend Hospital and Clements Hall Leisure Centre on time due to the 7 and 8 either running very late in the Shoebury area, or buses turning back before reaching their terminating point. The move also dismayed Rochford councillors. The Hockley Residents' Association also said that the figures for low customer numbers used to justify the frequency reduction were flawed. After receiving numerous complaints from Hockley residents, on June 7, 2009 Arriva Southend extended some service 7 buses to Hockley Spa instead of terminating at Ashingdon Schools. It is likely that this extra service is now going to stay after a review in December 2009. Hawkwell residents then sent further complaints to the Essex County Council about service 8 not having evening services after 6:30pm since 2002. They demanded that one of the service 7 evening buses to become an 8 and divert to Hawkwell. Essex County Council said it would not be possible to add an evening service to service 8. Arriva Southend have also been criticised for running all of their services in the Shoeburyness area via Asda
, after they changed the route of Service 1 to run through Asda instead of Elm Road.
Arriva Southend has started using an "undercover passenger" scheme to attempt to better understand problems and complaints with the changes they have made to their services, encouraging passengers to participate by offering them a week's free bus travel for rating the services they use.
From 2 May 2010, with the help and funding of Essex County Council, all Arriva service 7 buses extended to run to Hockley Spa instead of Ashingdon Schools every 10 minutes. Service 8 has returned to running twice an hour (one to Hockley Spa, the other to Rayleigh Station) instead of the previous one bus an hour.
There has been crictism from passengers frequently using service 29 which done a route merger with service 13 to provide a through service from Belfairs to Temple Sutton since March 27 2011 which resulted in drivers not given sufficient time to complete the whole route, which has caused buses to turn back before reaching their terminating point, missing out certain bus stops and leaving passengers stranded from over 45 to 90 minutes to wait for the next service 29.
A majority of services on most routes are operated using low-floor easy-access buses, as indicated by the access icon .
in conjunction with the launch of the branding. Service 5 branding has now been removed following the withdrawal of services to Grays and Lakeside. Services 13 and 29 have now had their branding removed, as they will be combined from Monday 28th March 2011, with Service 29 being extended to Temple Sutton to replace Service 13.
staff shuttle van, one Ford Transit mechanics' van, and one forklift truck
. Beginning in July 2008, some buses at the Southend depot had CCTV fitted, their roller blind destination displays replaced with scrolling LED
displays, and a repaint, similar to previous mid-life refurbishments performed for Operation Overdrive. Low-floor easy-access buses are used on services on routes 1, 4, 4A, 5, 6A, 7, 8, 9, 10, 18, 407, 408 and all Transport for London services. 12 Optare Versas entered service on 12th November 2011 on route 9.
In August 2009, the last two Leyland Olympian
double deckers with coach seats, 5404/5, which first entered service with Southend Transport in 1990, retired from service with Arriva Southend. Their retirement concided with a special event on Southend seafront with several vintage open-top buses running from Shoeburyness to Chalkwell. An Arriva Southend driver and bus enthusiast said: “The withdrawal of the last municipally-owned buses from the area is the end of another chapter in the history of Southend’s bus services. The Olympians have served us well and I’ll be sorry to see them go.” The Olympians were transferred to Tonbridge
in Kent
for use on school contract services but now withdrawn and sold.
Single deckers:
Double Decker:
Arriva Southern Counties
Arriva Southern Counties is a bus operator in London, Surrey, West Sussex, East Sussex, Kent and Essex in England. It is a regional division of Arriva.- History :...
, a subsidiary of transport group Arriva
Arriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
which operates bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
services in and around the Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea is a unitary authority area, town, and seaside resort in Essex, England. The district has Borough status, and comprises the towns of Chalkwell, Eastwood, Leigh-on-Sea, North Shoebury, Prittlewell, Shoeburyness, Southchurch, Thorpe Bay, and Westcliff-on-Sea. The district is situated...
, Rochford
Rochford
Rochford is a small town in the Rochford district of Essex in the East of England. It is sited about 43 miles from Central London and approximately 21 miles from the Essex county town, Chelmsford...
, Rayleigh
Rayleigh, Essex
Rayleigh is a market town and civil parish in the District of Rochford in Essex, England, located between Chelmsford and Southend-on-Sea. It lies to the east of central London. It has a population of 30,196, having expanded rapidly in the 1960s.-Toponymy:...
, Basildon
Basildon
Basildon is a town located in the Basildon District of the county of Essex, England.It lies east of Central London and south of the county town of Chelmsford...
, and Thurrock
Thurrock
Thurrock is a unitary authority with borough status in the English ceremonial county of Essex. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The local authority is Thurrock Council....
areas of Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. They operate most services east of Southend and a few services west of Southend, and compete to a limited extent with four other local operators with services in the same areas: First Essex
First Essex
First Essex Buses Limited is owned by First Group. First Essex carries around 29 million passengers each year on a network of routes serving Essex and the surrounding areas. It arose from an amalgamation of Eastern National and Thamesway Buses, whose yellow/maroon livery has only recently disappeared...
, NIBS, Regal Busways
Regal Busways
Regal Busways Ltd is a small bus operator established in 2001 and based in Essex. Their services operate through 30 local communities including Chelmsford, Epping, The Hanningfields, Canvey Island, Harlow, Ongar, Pleshey, Toot Hill, Upshire, Waltham Abbey, Waltham Cross and Wickford.-History:Regal...
, and Stephensons of Essex
Stephensons of Essex
Stephensons of Essex is a privately owned bus company based in south Essex, in England, operating local bus and contract services in the same areas as Arriva Southend, Ensignbus, First Essex, NIBS, and Regal Busways. It also runs private hire coaches, and has a bus and coach dealership and sales...
.
History
The company was founded in 1901 as Southend Corporation Transport, and was renamed Southend Transport in 1974. It began operating motorbuses in 1912, and became a limited company on October 26, 1986 due to the 1985 Transport Act. Southend Transport was involved in a price war with Thamesway (now part of First EssexFirst Essex
First Essex Buses Limited is owned by First Group. First Essex carries around 29 million passengers each year on a network of routes serving Essex and the surrounding areas. It arose from an amalgamation of Eastern National and Thamesway Buses, whose yellow/maroon livery has only recently disappeared...
). Southend Transport was sold by Southend Borough Council to the British Bus group in June 1993 for a reported £1, which in turn was taken over by the Cowie group.
Cowie was renamed Arriva
Arriva
Arriva plc is a multinational public transport company owned by Deutsche Bahn and headquartered in Sunderland, United Kingdom. It has bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus operations in 12 countries across Europe, employs more than 47,500 people and services over 1.5 billion passenger journeys each...
in August 1998 and Southend Transport was renamed Arriva serving Southend as part of this rebranding. Although the 'serving Southend' local identity caption has now been phased out, it can still be seen on the sides of some of their buses.
On January 28, 2000, the original Southend garage at 87 London Road dating from the foundation of Southend Corporation Transport was closed and demolished shortly afterwards, with a new one constructed in Short Street, Southend-on-Sea. The old London Road site is now occupied by a retail park
Retail park
In the United Kingdom, a retail park is a grouping of many retail warehouses and superstores with associated car parking. Its North American equivalent is a power centre. Retail parks are found on the fringes of most large towns and cities in highly accessible locations and are aimed at households...
.
Arriva Southend had continued the service X1 coach service to London inherited from Southend Transport, latterly as the Green Line
Green Line Coaches
Green Line is a commuter coach brand in the Home Counties of England. It is owned by the Arriva group.Green Line has its origin in the network of coach services established by the London General Omnibus Company in the 1920s and 1930s...
721 service. In 2001 operation of route X1
Green Line routes X1 and X10
Green Line routes X1 and X10 were limited-stop express coach services which were operated by Stephensons of Essex as part of the large Green Line Coaches network. The services operated between Rochford, Southend and London...
was taken over by Stephensons of Essex
Stephensons of Essex
Stephensons of Essex is a privately owned bus company based in south Essex, in England, operating local bus and contract services in the same areas as Arriva Southend, Ensignbus, First Essex, NIBS, and Regal Busways. It also runs private hire coaches, and has a bus and coach dealership and sales...
, which withdrew it in July 2008.
A restructuring in 2002 saw overall control of Arriva Colchester and Arriva Southend pass to Arriva Southern Counties
Arriva Southern Counties
Arriva Southern Counties is a bus operator in London, Surrey, West Sussex, East Sussex, Kent and Essex in England. It is a regional division of Arriva.- History :...
from Arriva East Herts & Essex
Arriva Shires & Essex
Arriva Shires & Essex is a division of Arriva, with operations in Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and London. It is one of many private operators of London Buses. Until 2002 its operations included Colchester...
.
On 30 March 2008 both commercially run services from the Grays garage (routes 373 and 383) were withdrawn, with the buses used for these services moving to Southend garage. The Grays garage now only operates the Transport for London
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
(TfL) contracted services.
Criticisms
Arriva Southend has been criticised by users and the Southend Area Bus Users' Group for withdrawing services which it considered no longer economically viable due to low passenger numbers (even when parts of the route were profitable) when Southend Borough Council withdrew bus subsidies of up to £Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
6 per passenger in 2005. On 21 January 2008 Southend Area Bus Users' Group and Councilor Steve Aylen successfully campaigned for improvements to route 6A after having been withdrawn in 2005. On 31 March 2008, service 7 was extended at the suggestion of Great Wakering Parish Council and the Rochford Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership, who are subsidising the service. The company trials the operation of new services to gauge service demand, and makes services permanent if there are enough passengers to support them being run.
It has also been criticised by Southend
Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea is a unitary authority area, town, and seaside resort in Essex, England. The district has Borough status, and comprises the towns of Chalkwell, Eastwood, Leigh-on-Sea, North Shoebury, Prittlewell, Shoeburyness, Southchurch, Thorpe Bay, and Westcliff-on-Sea. The district is situated...
Borough Council for the age of its bus fleet, as some of its buses are nearly 20 years old and many do not have low-floor, easy-access step-free entry which is important for older people, as Southend has an ageing population with the most senior citizens in the country, although most areas do not have full low-floor networks yet, and buses are built to have working lives of about 20 years. Arriva Southend did introduce some new Dennis Trident 2
Dennis Trident 2
Dennis Trident 2 is a 2-axle low-floor double-decker bus chassis originally built by Dennis in the United Kingdom, which was unveiled in 1997 and replaced the Dennis Arrow...
Alexander
Walter Alexander Coachbuilders
Walter Alexander Coachbuilders was a Scottish bus coachbuilder and operater based in Falkirk.-History:Walter Alexander, notice a lack expasion by the Falkirk and District Tramways Company's especially in to Grangemouth which never hdd a tram line. In 1913 Alexander's Motor Service was created to...
ALX400
Alexander ALX400
The Alexander ALX400 is a 2-axle double-decker bus body built by Walter Alexander Coachbuilders...
low-floor double-decker buses branded for use on services 7 and 8 in 2000, but they were subseqeuently redistributed to Arriva Maidstone
Arriva Southern Counties
Arriva Southern Counties is a bus operator in London, Surrey, West Sussex, East Sussex, Kent and Essex in England. It is a regional division of Arriva.- History :...
and Arriva East Herts & Essex
Arriva Shires & Essex
Arriva Shires & Essex is a division of Arriva, with operations in Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and London. It is one of many private operators of London Buses. Until 2002 its operations included Colchester...
in 2004/5 as Arriva decided that they were not getting enough passengers to justify their use. However, many of the older buses have now been replaced with more modern ones, and this process will continue over the next month to replace the remainder of the older double-deckers, although a few step entrance vehicles will remain.
Further criticism came from passengers when Arriva Southend and First Essex
First Essex
First Essex Buses Limited is owned by First Group. First Essex carries around 29 million passengers each year on a network of routes serving Essex and the surrounding areas. It arose from an amalgamation of Eastern National and Thamesway Buses, whose yellow/maroon livery has only recently disappeared...
decided to withdraw their "Day Rover" ticket, which allowed unlimited journeys on the day of purchase on buses operated by both companies regardless of which company issued the ticket, so day tickets can now only be used on the buses of the company issuing them. They replaced it with a more expensive "Octopus" ticket which is issued by and can be used on any buses operated by Arriva Southend, First Essex
First Essex
First Essex Buses Limited is owned by First Group. First Essex carries around 29 million passengers each year on a network of routes serving Essex and the surrounding areas. It arose from an amalgamation of Eastern National and Thamesway Buses, whose yellow/maroon livery has only recently disappeared...
, NIBS
NIBS
NIBS may refer to:*National Institute of Building Sciences*NIBS , British bus company*Cacao nibs, pieces of roasted cocoa beans, generally ground into powder, but also inserted into chocolate bars to give additional "crunch"...
, Regal Busways
Regal Busways
Regal Busways Ltd is a small bus operator established in 2001 and based in Essex. Their services operate through 30 local communities including Chelmsford, Epping, The Hanningfields, Canvey Island, Harlow, Ongar, Pleshey, Toot Hill, Upshire, Waltham Abbey, Waltham Cross and Wickford.-History:Regal...
and Stephensons of Essex
Stephensons of Essex
Stephensons of Essex is a privately owned bus company based in south Essex, in England, operating local bus and contract services in the same areas as Arriva Southend, Ensignbus, First Essex, NIBS, and Regal Busways. It also runs private hire coaches, and has a bus and coach dealership and sales...
in the Southend, Rochford and Castle Point
Castle Point
Castle Point is a local government district and borough in south Essex. The borough comprises the towns of Canvey Island, Hadleigh, South Benfleet, and Thundersley which also provides the site of the council headquarters.-History:...
districts, covering more bus operators and a wider area of Essex.
On 8 February 2009, Arriva reduced the frequency of services 7 and 8 to some areas, which angered some residents in Hockley and Hawkwell
Hawkwell
Hawkwell is the second largest village and civil parish in the district of Rochford in Essex, England Rayleigh being the largest. The 2001 census gave a population for the parish of 11,231....
, as it made it very difficult for them to get to and from Southend Hospital and Clements Hall Leisure Centre on time due to the 7 and 8 either running very late in the Shoebury area, or buses turning back before reaching their terminating point. The move also dismayed Rochford councillors. The Hockley Residents' Association also said that the figures for low customer numbers used to justify the frequency reduction were flawed. After receiving numerous complaints from Hockley residents, on June 7, 2009 Arriva Southend extended some service 7 buses to Hockley Spa instead of terminating at Ashingdon Schools. It is likely that this extra service is now going to stay after a review in December 2009. Hawkwell residents then sent further complaints to the Essex County Council about service 8 not having evening services after 6:30pm since 2002. They demanded that one of the service 7 evening buses to become an 8 and divert to Hawkwell. Essex County Council said it would not be possible to add an evening service to service 8. Arriva Southend have also been criticised for running all of their services in the Shoeburyness area via Asda
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
, after they changed the route of Service 1 to run through Asda instead of Elm Road.
Arriva Southend has started using an "undercover passenger" scheme to attempt to better understand problems and complaints with the changes they have made to their services, encouraging passengers to participate by offering them a week's free bus travel for rating the services they use.
From 2 May 2010, with the help and funding of Essex County Council, all Arriva service 7 buses extended to run to Hockley Spa instead of Ashingdon Schools every 10 minutes. Service 8 has returned to running twice an hour (one to Hockley Spa, the other to Rayleigh Station) instead of the previous one bus an hour.
There has been crictism from passengers frequently using service 29 which done a route merger with service 13 to provide a through service from Belfairs to Temple Sutton since March 27 2011 which resulted in drivers not given sufficient time to complete the whole route, which has caused buses to turn back before reaching their terminating point, missing out certain bus stops and leaving passengers stranded from over 45 to 90 minutes to wait for the next service 29.
Current services
For a list of all bus services in Essex please see List of bus routes in Essex.A majority of services on most routes are operated using low-floor easy-access buses, as indicated by the access icon .
| Route | From | To | Via | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shoeburyness Shoeburyness Shoeburyness is a town in southeast Essex, England, situated at the mouth of the river Thames Estuary. It is within the borough of Southend-on-Sea, and is situated at the far east of the borough, around east of Southend town centre... , Blackgate Road |
Rayleigh Rail Station Rayleigh railway station Rayleigh railway station serves the town of Rayleigh in Essex, England. The station, and all trains calling there, are operated by National Express East Anglia.... |
North Shoebury, Thorpe Bay Thorpe Bay Thorpe Bay is an affluent area within the Borough of Southend-on-Sea in Essex, England, situated on the Thames Estuary.Thorpe Bay is situated within the Southend ward of Thorpe. It is around 4 miles to the east of Southend. Originally the area was called Thorpe, but was renamed Thorpe Bay after its... , Bournes Green, Southchurch Southchurch Southchurch is now part of Southend-on-Sea in Essex, England. However, it was an independent parish until 1894 and has a documented history going back to the ninth century AD.... , Southend Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea is a unitary authority area, town, and seaside resort in Essex, England. The district has Borough status, and comprises the towns of Chalkwell, Eastwood, Leigh-on-Sea, North Shoebury, Prittlewell, Shoeburyness, Southchurch, Thorpe Bay, and Westcliff-on-Sea. The district is situated... , Leigh Leigh-on-Sea Leigh-on-Sea , sometimes called Leigh, is a civil parish in Essex, England. It is part of Southend-on-Sea for administrative purposes. It became a civil parish in 1996. The council tax was increased to support it. A town council was formed. Leigh is the only parish in Southend... , Hadleigh Hadleigh, Essex Hadleigh is a town in southeast Essex, England, on the A13 between Benfleet and Leigh-on-Sea with a population of about 18,300.-History:Hadleigh is known for its castle, and the country park that surrounds it. The castle has been a romantic ruin for a few hundred years, but parts of two towers are... , Thundersley Thundersley Thundersley is a district in the north west of the Castle Point Borough, in south east Essex, England, about 35 miles east of London.-Toponymy:... |
||
| Southend Travel Centre | Landwick Police Lodge | Southchurch, Bournes Green, North Shoebury, Great Wakering Great Wakering Great Wakering is a village in Essex, England. The nearest large town is Southend which is approximately four miles to the west of the village... |
The 4 does not run on Sundays as service 4A runs instead (see below). | |
| Southend Travel Centre | Landwick Police Lodge or Shoeburyness East Beach | Southchurch, Bournes Green, Great Wakering | The last journey Monday to Saturday, and all Sunday journeys, go to Shoeburyness East Beach as a 4A service instead of Landwick. | |
| Southend Travel Centre | Basildon Basildon (district) Basildon is a local government district in south Essex in the East of England, centred around the town of Basildon. The district was formed under the Local Government Act 1972 on 1 April 1974 from the former area of Basildon Urban District and the part of Thurrock Urban District that was within the... Bus Station |
Leigh-on-Sea, Hadleigh, Thundersley, New Thundersley, Pitsea Pitsea Pitsea is a small town in the east of the Basildon district of south Essex, England. It comprises five sub-districts: Eversley, Northlands Park Neighbourhood , Chalvedon, Pitsea Mount and Burnt Mills. Vange is located to the west of Pitsea, Bowers Gifford and North Benfleet to the east and Nevendon... |
||
| Belfairs, Woodcutters | Leigh Rail Station Leigh-on-Sea railway station Leigh-on-Sea railway station serves the town of Leigh-on-Sea near Southend. This station serves as a park and ride facility. The station is run and served solely by c2c.- History :... |
North Leigh | Service operated during peak hours and Tuesdays only. | |
| Shoeburyness, Renown | Rayleigh Rail Station | North Shoebury, Thorpe Bay, Southchurch, Southend, Prittlewell Prittlewell Prittlewell is an area of Southend-on-Sea in Essex. Historically, Prittlewell is the original town, Southend being the south end of Prittlewell.Originally a Saxon village, Prittlewell is centred on St... , Southend Hospital, Southend Airport, Rochford Rochford Rochford is a small town in the Rochford district of Essex in the East of England. It is sited about 43 miles from Central London and approximately 21 miles from the Essex county town, Chelmsford... , Golden Cross, Ashingdon Ashingdon Ashingdon is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. It is located about north of Rochford and is southeast from the county town of Chelmsford... , Hockley Hockley Hockley is a large village and civil parish in Essex, England located between Chelmsford and Southend-on-Sea. More specifically it lies between Rayleigh and Rochford. It came to prominence during the coming of the railway in the 1890s and at the 2001 census had a population of 13,616 people, many... |
Runs past Shoeburyness Renown to Great Wakering Church and Little Wakering Corner on Mondays to Saturdays. Evening service run by Stephensons of Essex Stephensons of Essex Stephensons of Essex is a privately owned bus company based in south Essex, in England, operating local bus and contract services in the same areas as Arriva Southend, Ensignbus, First Essex, NIBS, and Regal Busways. It also runs private hire coaches, and has a bus and coach dealership and sales... from 31 August 2010 with a revised timetable. Serves Southend Airport. |
|
| Shoeburyness, Renown | Rayleigh Rail Station | North Shoebury, Thorpe Bay, Southchurch, Southend, Prittlewell, Southend Hospital, Southend Airport, Rochford, Golden Cross, Hawkwell Hawkwell Hawkwell is the second largest village and civil parish in the district of Rochford in Essex, England Rayleigh being the largest. The 2001 census gave a population for the parish of 11,231.... , Hockley |
Evening service run by Stephensons of Essex Stephensons of Essex Stephensons of Essex is a privately owned bus company based in south Essex, in England, operating local bus and contract services in the same areas as Arriva Southend, Ensignbus, First Essex, NIBS, and Regal Busways. It also runs private hire coaches, and has a bus and coach dealership and sales... from 31 August 2010 with a revised timetable. Serves Southend Airport. R |
|
| Shoeburyness, East Beach | Rayleigh Rail Station | North Shoebury, Cambridge Town, Thorpe Esplanade, Southend, Prittlewell, Southend Airport, Nobles Green, Eastwood Eastwood, Essex Eastwood is a town four miles west of Southend-on-Sea in Essex, England. It is a suburb of Southend and part of the Southend-on-Sea unitary district. Eastwood is sometimes called Eastwood Park, such as for local elections.... |
Serves Southend Airport. | |
| Paglesham Paglesham Paglesham is situated in the north east of the Rochford Rural District, Essex. The Parish of Paglesham includes two hamlets of East End and Church End, which are situated near the River Crouch and Paglesham Creek. It is part of the Roach Valley Conservation Zone.At the East End is The Plough and... Eastend, Plough and Sail Pub |
Rayleigh High Street | Canewdon Canewdon Canewdon is a village in north Rochford District of Essex in England, approximately 4 miles northeast of the town of Rochford. Canewdon is situated on one of the highest hills of the Essex coastline from which St. Nicholas church affords wide views of the Crouch estuary. Canewdon parish extends... , Ashingdon, Lower Hockley, Hullbridge Hullbridge Hullbridge is a village and civil parish in the Rochford district of Essex in east England. Bordered to the north by the River Crouch, and semi-isolated from the nearby towns of Hockley and Rayleigh, Hullbridge has a population of around 7,300 .... |
Service runs on Wednesdays only. (Hail and ride Hail and ride Hail and Ride is a concept in public transport in the United Kingdom. Generally, it refers to boarding or alighting a mode of public transport by signalling the driver or conductor that one wishes to board/alight, rather than the more... throughout.) |
|
| Eastwood Woodcutters Pub | Eastwood Woodcutters Pub | Stroud Green, Hawkwell, Hockley, Ashingdon, Golden Cross, Stroud Green | Circular service, runs on Fridays only. | |
| 29 | Belgrave Road | Temple Sutton | Belfairs, North Leigh, Westcliff, Fairfax Drive, Southend Travel Centre, Sutton Road, Cluny Square | |
| Lakeside Bus Station | Grays Bus Station | Uplands Estate, Garrison Estate, Purfleet Purfleet Purfleet is a place in the Thurrock unitary authority in Essex, England. It is situated south of the A13 road on the River Thames and within the easterly bounds of the M25 motorway but just outside the Greater London boundary. It was within the traditional Church of England parish of West Thurrock... , West Thurrock West Thurrock West Thurrock is a traditional Church of England parish and town in Thurrock, Essex, England, located 17.5 miles east south-east of Charing Cross, London.-Location:... |
Service runs on Sundays only, weekday and Saturday service provided by Ensignbus Ensignbus Ensignbus is a Purfleet-based bus and coach dealer, open top bus tour operator and bus service operator. Ensignbus has amassed 20 ex-London vehicles of various ages and conditions in a .... . Operated under contract to Thurrock Thurrock Thurrock is a unitary authority with borough status in the English ceremonial county of Essex. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The local authority is Thurrock Council.... Council. |
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| Lakeside Bus Station | Basildon Bus Station | West Thurrock West Thurrock West Thurrock is a traditional Church of England parish and town in Thurrock, Essex, England, located 17.5 miles east south-east of Charing Cross, London.-Location:... , South Stifford, Grays, Heath, Stifford Clays, Orsett Orsett Orsett is a village and ecclesiastical parish located within Thurrock unitary district in Essex, England, situated around 5 km north-east of Grays... Hospital, Stanford-le-Hope Stanford-le-Hope Stanford-le-Hope is a town and Church of England parish situated in the county of Essex, England. The town is within the unitary authority of Thurrock and located 23.8 miles east of Charing Cross in London... , Corringham Corringham, Essex Corringham is a small English town within the unitary authority of Thurrock and one of the traditional parishes. It is situated in the east of the borough of Thurrock and has over time come to be considered an area within the larger neighbouring town of Stanford-Le-Hope. The parish church... |
Service runs on Sundays only. Operated under contract to Thurrock Council. | |
| Noak Hill Noak Hill Noak Hill is a village in the London Borough of Havering. It is in the far north east of the borough close to the Greater London boundary which is locally the M25 motorway, situated on hilly terrain. The village consists of various period homes, many of which are listed, a 19th century church and... , Tees Drive |
Hornchurch Hornchurch Hornchurch is a large suburban town in England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. Hornchurch is in North-East London .It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan. It comprises a number of shopping... , St. George's Hospital |
Harold Wood Harold Wood Harold Wood is a place in the London Borough of Havering, east London, England.It is a suburban development situated east-northeeast of Charing Cross... , Ardleigh Green |
Service operated under contract to Transport for London Transport for London Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London... using buses from Grays garage. |
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| Upminster Station Upminster station Upminster station is a London Underground and National Rail station located in Upminster in the London Borough of Havering and in London fare zone 6. Located east-northeast of Charing Cross, it is the easternmost station on the London Underground network and the eastern terminus of the District... |
Upminster Park Estate, Waycross Road | Cranham Cranham Cranham is a residential suburb in northeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Havering. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross and comprises an extensive built-up area to the north and a low density conservation area surrounded by open land to the south. It was historically... |
Service operated under contract to Transport for London using buses from Grays garage. | |
| Lakeside Bus Station | Romford Rail Station Romford railway station Romford station is located in Romford, London Borough of Havering. It is situated between Chadwell Heath and Gidea Park. It is the western terminus of the Upminster branch line from Upminster.... |
Chafford Hundred Chafford Hundred Chafford Hundred is a recent UK housing brownfield just outside Greater London between Grays and South Ockendon in the Borough of Thurrock. It is immediately adjacent to Lakeside Shopping Centre and West Thurrock... , South Ockendon South Ockendon South Ockendon is settlement and Church of England parish in the Thurrock borough and unitary district in Essex in the East of England, United Kingdom.-History:... , North Ockendon North Ockendon North Ockendon is an outlying settlement of northeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Havering. It is located east northeast of Charing Cross and consists of a dispersed settlement within the Metropolitan Green Belt... , Corbets Tay, Upminster Upminster Upminster is a suburban town in northeast London, England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. Located east-northeast of Charing Cross, it is one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan, and comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential... , Hornchurch Hornchurch Hornchurch is a large suburban town in England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. Hornchurch is in North-East London .It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan. It comprises a number of shopping... , Gidea Park Gidea Park Gidea Park is a place in the London Borough of Havering, east London, England. Gidea Park is a part of Romford post town.-History:Gidea Park is the location of the "Romford Garden Suburb" constructed in 1910 to 1911 on the Gidea Hall and Balgores Estates as an exhibition of town planning... |
Service operated under contract to Transport for London using buses from Grays garage. | |
| 401 | Hullbridge, The Anchor Pub | Southend Travel Centre | Rayleigh Rail Station, Thundersley Woodman's Arms Pub, SEEVIC College SEEVIC College SEEVIC College is a further education college located in Benfleet, Essex and with a second campus in Basildon, Essex. They have approximately 2500 students. They also provide adult education courses for learners of any age.... , Hadleigh Church |
School bus service, runs along part of route 1 once a day in the morning on college days only. |
| Greensward College, Hockley | Shoeburyness, East Beach | Ashingdon Schools, Golden Cross Post Office, Rochford East Street, Southend Airport Warners Bridge, Hobleythick Lane (for Southend Hospital), Civic Centre Victoria Avenue, Southend Travel Centre, Shoeburyness High School Shoeburyness High School Shoeburyness High School is a secondary school in Southend-on-Sea, Essex. Unusually, it is one of the few partially selective schools in England. The high school celebrated its 70th anniversary in June 2009.... , Asda Asda Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile... North Shoebury, Shoeburyness Renown |
School bus service, runs along part of route 7 once a day in the afternoon on schooldays only. | |
| Thorpe Bay Rail Station Thorpe Bay railway station Thorpe Bay is a railway station in Southend-on-Sea, on the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway. Train services are provided by c2c. The station is 37 miles distant on the main line from Fenchurch Street.- Layout :... |
Shoeburyness, East Beach | Morning: Bournes Green, Southchurch White Horse, Woodgrange Drive Lifstan Way, Southend Travel Centre. Afternoon: Shoeburyness High School, Asda North Shoebury, Shoeburyness Renown | School bus service, runs along part of route 7/8 once a day in the morning (first half) and afternoon (second half) on schooldays only. | |
| Gallows Corner, Tesco Tesco Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits... |
Rush Green, Dagenham Road | Harold Hill, Noak Hill, Romford Romford Romford is a large suburban town in north east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan... , Becontree Heath Becontree Becontree is a place in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, east north-east of Charing Cross.-Becontree estate:The area was developed between 1921 and 1932 by the London County Council as a large council estate of 27,000 homes, intended as "homes for heroes" after World War I. With a... |
Service operated under contract to Transport for London using buses from Grays garage. |
Service branding
From September 2010, the main services have been colour-coded on route maps, with Service 1 dark green, service 4 red, service 4A light blue, service 5 maroon, service 6A lilac, service 7 orange, service 8 light green, service 9 light pink, service 10 dashed grey, service 13 dark pink, service 17 dashed dark blue, service 18 dashed dark purple, and service 29 sea green. In 2008, Arriva Southend began branding some of its low-floor Dennis Dart buses for specific services with red and yellow vinyl stickers, beginning with service 29 as "the twenty-nine", then service 13 as "...the sutton shuttle..." and service 5 as "Basildon direct", with associated dedicated web sites for the 5 and 29. Some buses had previously been colour-coded, with service 1 red, service 5 dark blue and service 9 light green. This colour-coding was retained on the timetables for these services, with services 13 and 29 dark green, and service 17 purple, until the new colour codes replaced them. The four Service 29 branded Darts were named by students at the Fairways Primary School in BelfairsLeigh-on-Sea
Leigh-on-Sea , sometimes called Leigh, is a civil parish in Essex, England. It is part of Southend-on-Sea for administrative purposes. It became a civil parish in 1996. The council tax was increased to support it. A town council was formed. Leigh is the only parish in Southend...
in conjunction with the launch of the branding. Service 5 branding has now been removed following the withdrawal of services to Grays and Lakeside. Services 13 and 29 have now had their branding removed, as they will be combined from Monday 28th March 2011, with Service 29 being extended to Temple Sutton to replace Service 13.
Fleet
Arriva Southend currently has a fleet of 62 buses in service, including 55 single-deckers. They also have one Ford TransitFord Transit
The Ford Transit is a range of panel vans, minibuses, and pickup trucks, produced by the Ford Motor Company in Europe.The Transit has been the best-selling light commercial vehicle in Europe for 40 years, and in some countries the term "Transit" has passed into common usage as a generic term...
staff shuttle van, one Ford Transit mechanics' van, and one forklift truck
Forklift truck
A forklift is a powered industrial truck used to lift and transport materials. The modern forklift was developed in the 1920s by various companies including the transmission manufacturing company Clark and the hoist company Yale & Towne Manufacturing...
. Beginning in July 2008, some buses at the Southend depot had CCTV fitted, their roller blind destination displays replaced with scrolling LED
Light-emitting diode
A light-emitting diode is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are used as indicator lamps in many devices and are increasingly used for other lighting...
displays, and a repaint, similar to previous mid-life refurbishments performed for Operation Overdrive. Low-floor easy-access buses are used on services on routes 1, 4, 4A, 5, 6A, 7, 8, 9, 10, 18, 407, 408 and all Transport for London services. 12 Optare Versas entered service on 12th November 2011 on route 9.
In August 2009, the last two Leyland Olympian
Leyland Olympian
The Leyland Olympian was a double-decker bus built by British Leyland/Leyland Bus in the United Kingdom from 1980 to 1993. It was the last Leyland bus model in production before the demise of Leyland Bus.-Construction:...
double deckers with coach seats, 5404/5, which first entered service with Southend Transport in 1990, retired from service with Arriva Southend. Their retirement concided with a special event on Southend seafront with several vintage open-top buses running from Shoeburyness to Chalkwell. An Arriva Southend driver and bus enthusiast said: “The withdrawal of the last municipally-owned buses from the area is the end of another chapter in the history of Southend’s bus services. The Olympians have served us well and I’ll be sorry to see them go.” The Olympians were transferred to Tonbridge
Tonbridge
Tonbridge is a market town in the English county of Kent, with a population of 30,340 in 2007. It is located on the River Medway, approximately 4 miles north of Tunbridge Wells, 12 miles south west of Maidstone and 29 miles south east of London...
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
for use on school contract services but now withdrawn and sold.
Single deckers:
- 27 Dennis Dart SLF/Plaxton PointerPlaxton PointerThe Plaxton Pointer is a successful single-decker bus body manufactured during the 1990s by Plaxton and latterly built by Alexander Dennis.With the launch of the Dennis Dart in 1989, Plaxton's subsidiary Reeve Burgess made the Pointer body on the short 8.5 m...
- 13 Dennis Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointer II
- 12 Optare Versa (entered service on route 9 on 12th november 2011)
- 9 DAF SB220DAF SB220The DAF SB220 is a city bus chassis produced by DAF Bus International in the 1980s and 1990s.It has been superseded by the DAF/VDL SB200 and SB250.-United Kingdom :*Optare Delta*Ikarus Citibus...
/Plaxton PrestigePlaxton PrestigeThe Plaxton Prestige is a low-floor single-deck bus body built by Plaxton at the Wigan factory of its Northern Counties subsidiary, and at its main Scarborough factory, during the latter half of the 1990s....
Double Decker:
- 2 Volvo Olympian