Arriva Reaches for the Stars with New Leicester Fleet During Catch the Bus Week
Added by Love Business East Midlands | 13 July 2016
Arriva has unveiled how it has used £6million of investment to transform it's Leicestershire fleet - the stars of the County’s transport network.
The team from Arriva Leicester at the local bus launch
To coincide with national Catch the Bus Week, running from 4th to 10th July, Arriva hosted an exclusive event at Leicester’s National Space Centre, where guests including a number of local dignitaries, councillors and businesses were amongst the first to take a closer look at some of the 35 new high-spec premium eco-buses that are hitting the streets throughout the coming month.
The vehicles will provide premium level comfort and connectivity for customers with E-Leather seating and USB charging points as standard, but will also be the greenest diesel buses in the county, featuring the very latest low-emission engines and stop-start technology.
Further showcasing its commitment to a greener future, Arriva also detailed how local network has also benefitted from an extensive review and implementation of retro-fitted eco-features, which are designed to decrease the business’ carbon emissions and firmly position bus travel as the cleanest, most affordable method of transport available to commuters across the county.
Simon Mathieson, area managing director for Arriva Midlands East, explained:
“We are committed to challenging the preconceptions to bus travel, and positioning it as a viable alternative to car travel. In order to do this we need to ensure that our customers are given access to transport that meets their growing expectations in terms of technology and comfort, but that also delivers with regards to environmental standards.
“This investment into improving our network has not only included our new vehicles, but has also addressed 32 of our older buses based at our Thurmaston depot, through a joint project undertaken in conjunction with Leicester City Council, and funded by a Department for Transport grant worth £583,520. This scheme will see the addition of nitrogen dioxide emissions abatement equipment to our existing fleet, in an innovative trial which will monitor air quality improvements on key corridors over the course of the next five years. It’s an initiative we are incredibly proud to be part of, particularly during 2016, which we believe is very much the ‘Year of the Bus’ in Leicestershire.”
These latest enhancements to Arriva’s network support the business’ on-going commitment to enhancing customer experience through providing better quality bus travel. The ‘Leicester Stars’ scheme will also see approximately 50 per cent of Arriva’s entire Leicester fleet receive a major upgrade either through vehicle refurbishment, or punctuality improvements during the next 12 months.
Routes receiving new vehicles are 5/5A, operating every 10 minutes during the daytime to Melton Mowbray, 84/85 with departures every 10 minutes from St Margaret’s Bus Station serving Aylestone and Lutterworth, and 50/50A which runs every 20 minutes to Narborough.
For more information about Arriva services in the Midlands visit www.arrivabus.co.uk/midlands
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