Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

New Enterprise

Sun Jul 19 2009

Sunday 19 July 2009: New Enterprise

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

Arriva (other fleets)

Sat Jul 11 2009

Saturday 11 July 2009: Arriva (other fleets)

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

London series vehicles

Fri Mar 13 2009

Friday 13 March 2009: This is a temporary display, pending the full registration of the pictures, and their allocation to galleries. But it shows a lot of activity among the big bus companies between Southend-on-Sea and the Lakeside (Thurrock) bus stations. It also shows lots of disappearing types are still clinging on in the Thames Gateway. It includes early Arriva DAFs and Leyland Olympians, seciondhand Scania doubledeckers, a large number of Dennis Darts and a good selection of Dennis Lances still running with First Essex.

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

New buses launched for 82 service

Tue Jan 1 2008

Tuesday 1 January 2008: The launch of the six Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 Darts took place at County Hall, Maidstone, on December 19, 2008, amnd was followed the next day by their introduction into service. The event was also used to formally unveil to Maidstone the comparable Enviro 400 doubledeckers, although they had been runnintg for two weeks.

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

6450 - ***

Mon Dec 18 2006

Monday 18 December 2006: The new fleet for "the 101" began running between Maidstone and Medway on Saturday December 6 2008. It consists of Alexander Dennis Trident/Enviro 400s.

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

3751 - 3762 VDL/Wright Pulsars

Thu Oct 27 2005

Thursday 27 October 2005: 3751 - 3762 VDL/Wright Pulsars

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

2300 - ***

Wed Oct 20 2004

Wednesday 20 October 2004: 2300 - ***

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

2400 - *** (Optare Solos)

Wed Oct 20 2004

Wednesday 20 October 2004: 2400 - *** (Optare Solos)

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

Enviro 400 on demonstration

Fri Feb 1 2008

Friday 1 February 2008: Enviro 400 on demonstration

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

3500 - *** (DAF)

Tue Oct 25 2005

Tuesday 25 October 2005: 3500 - *** (DAF)

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

5200 - *** Dennis Dominators

Fri Nov 24 2006

Friday 24 November 2006: 5200 - *** Dennis Dominators

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

3976 - *** (Enviro 200s)

Sat Dec 3 2005

Saturday 3 December 2005: The latest to enter service are all Maidstone-based. They follow on from the first in the Medway Towns which are 4044 (GN09 AWV) 4045 (GN09 AWW) 4046 (GN09 AWX) 4047 (GN09 AWY) 4048 (GN09 AWZ) 4049 (GN09 AXA) 4050 (GN09 AXB) 4051 (GN09 AXC) 4052 (GN09 AXD) 4053 (GN09 AXF) 4054 (GN09 AXG) 4055 (GN09 AXH) 4056 (GN09 AXJ) 4057 (GN09 AXK) 4058 (GN09 AXM) 4059 (GN09 AXO)

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

Fastrack crossing the M25

Wed Oct 22 2003

Wednesday 22 October 2003: Fastrack crossing the M25

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

Arriva The Shires - coaches

Fri Jan 4 2002

Friday 4 January 2002: Arriva The Shires - coaches

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

3815 - 3826 - second day of Fastrack A

Tue Nov 29 2005

Tuesday 29 November 2005: The second day of operation of Fastrack route A saw the fleet of Euro 4-engined Volvo B7RLE/Wright B41F vehicles running through The Bridge development site. The plan by the developer, proLogis, who is funding the buses is that when the workers and the householders move in, there will be an established, six minute service running 18 hours a day. On the second day, the buses were running every 10 minutes, and having to slow down because of the lack of passengers.

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

Fastrack infrastructure

Thu Oct 23 2003

Thursday 23 October 2003: Fastrack infrastructure

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

Fastrack A unveiled

Mon May 12 2003

Monday 12 May 2003: The Fastrack network will be extended at 8am on June 3 2007 with the introduction of 12 Euro 4-engined Volvo B7/Wright saloons. They will run from Dartford to Bluewater via Temple Hill, The Bridge, Crossways and Greenhithe Station. In September 2007 a private bridge - currently under construction - will be opened across the Dartford Crossing tolls that will cut out Junction 1A of the M25, and enable passengers to travel swiftly across the congestion. The final stage of the private bridge's frames will be rolled out one night between May 16 and May 18 2007. The entire operation is being funded by the developer, ProLogis, and includes more than 1,000 homes, offices, the London Science Park, and a major logistics site for Sainsbury and others in addition to the buses, private road, bridge and bus "stations" - upmarket bus stops - plus a control room, satellite tracking and free travel for customers resident at The Bridge. ProLogis are committed to backing Fastrack until 2022.

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

2900 - *** (M&D DAFs)

Fri Oct 22 2004

Friday 22 October 2004: 2900 - *** (M&D DAFs)

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

3000 Enviro200 Dart

Fri Oct 7 2005

Friday 7 October 2005: The Enviro200 Dart built by Alexander Dennis and exhibited at the International Bus exhibition at the NEC in 2006 has entered service with Arriva at Tunbridge Wells. My first shots were taken on a rain-swept day in January 2007.

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

Arriva's Maidstone depot at work

Wed Dec 24 2003

Wednesday 24 December 2003: Arriva's Maidstone depot at work

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

6440 - 6449

Sun Dec 17 2006

Sunday 17 December 2006: 6440 - 6449

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

6410 - 6419

Sun Dec 17 2006

Sunday 17 December 2006: 6410 - 6419

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

6430 - 6439

Sun Dec 17 2006

Sunday 17 December 2006: 6430 - 6439

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

6420 - 6429

Sun Dec 17 2006

Sunday 17 December 2006: 6420 - 6429

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

6400 - 6409

Sun Dec 17 2006

Sunday 17 December 2006: 6400 - 6409

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

3217 - 3249

Thu Oct 20 2005

Thursday 20 October 2005: 3217 - 3249

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

3265 - 3299

Sat Oct 22 2005

Saturday 22 October 2005: 3265 - 3299

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

5300 - ** (M&D Dennis Dominators)

Sat Nov 25 2006

Saturday 25 November 2006: 5300 - ** (M&D Dennis Dominators)

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

1000 - ** (M&D minibuses)

Tue Mar 30 2004

Tuesday 30 March 2004: 1000 - ** (M&D minibuses)

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

2100 - ** (M&D coaches)

Tue Oct 19 2004

Tuesday 19 October 2004: 2100 - ** (M&D coaches)

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

5400 - ** (Olympian coaches)

Sun Nov 26 2006

Sunday 26 November 2006: 5400 - ** (Olympian coaches)

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

7600 - **

Fri Dec 29 2006

Friday 29 December 2006: 7600 - **

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

1100 - ***

Thu Apr 1 2004

Thursday 1 April 2004: 1100 - ***

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

3801 - 3826 (Fastrack saloons)

Mon Nov 28 2005

Monday 28 November 2005: The Fastrack network began operating on March 26, 2006. Route B - from Temple Hill, Dartford to the Darent Valley Hospital, Bluewater, Greenhithe, Northfleet and Gravesend - was the launch route with 14 Euro 3-equipped Volvo B7RLE/Wright Contour Eclipse saloons bought by the Kent Thameside Delivery Board and operated by Arriva Southern Counties' Northfleet depot. The vehicles use considerable stretches of segregated road including a spectacular climb from Bluewater Shopping Centre to Darent Valley Hospital up the cliffside. Route A - from Dartford via The Bridge, Crossways Business Park and Greenhithe to Bluewater - will start on June 3 2007, with vehicles funded by ProLogis, developer of The Bridge mixed-use development. Work has already begun on reprofiling the massive Eastern Quarry. It will be home to five villages once completed, and will provide a fresh Fastrack route through the centre and into the adjacent Ebbsfleet international station site once the far cliff is partly removed.

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

5000 - *** (Olympians)

Thu Nov 23 2006

Thursday 23 November 2006: 5000 - *** (Olympians)

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

3000 - *** Dennis Darts

Tue Oct 4 2005

Tuesday 4 October 2005: 3000 - *** Dennis Darts

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

3300 - ***

Sun Oct 23 2005

Sunday 23 October 2005: 3300 - ***

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

3400 - ***

Mon Oct 24 2005

Monday 24 October 2005: 3400 - ***

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

3100 - 3175

Sun Oct 9 2005

Sunday 9 October 2005: 3100 - 3175

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

3600 - ***

Wed Oct 26 2005

Wednesday 26 October 2005: 3600 - ***

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

3250 - *** (DAF)

Fri Oct 21 2005

Friday 21 October 2005: 3250 - *** (DAF)

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

5900 - 5999

Thu Nov 30 2006

Thursday 30 November 2006: The last of the Maidstone & District Olympian/Northern Counties vehicles.

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

5700 - 5899

Wed Nov 29 2006

Wednesday 29 November 2006: 5700 - 5899

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

5500 - ***

Tue Nov 28 2006

Tuesday 28 November 2006: Olympians with Northern Counties Palatine bodywork originally transferred to Kent for Bluewater services.

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

5400 - *** (Dennis Tridents)

Mon Nov 27 2006

Monday 27 November 2006: These were mainly ex-Arriva Southend Dennis Tridents with Alexander bodies.

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

3900 - 3975 (DAF, VDL)

Wed Nov 30 2005

Wednesday 30 November 2005: 3900 - 3975 (DAF, VDL)

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

3700 - ***

Thu Oct 27 2005

Thursday 27 October 2005: 3700 - ***

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

3500 - *** (Volvo B6)

Tue Oct 25 2005

Tuesday 25 October 2005: 3500 - *** (Volvo B6)

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

Dennis Dart - DSL

Sat Oct 18 2003

Saturday 18 October 2003: Dennis Dart - DSL

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

3176 - 3216

Wed Oct 19 2005

Wednesday 19 October 2005: 3176 - 3216

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

3000 - Leyland Lynx

Sat Oct 8 2005

Saturday 8 October 2005: 3000 - Leyland Lynx

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

1600 - ***

Sat Oct 16 2004

Saturday 16 October 2004: 1600 - ***

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

1400 - ***

Thu Oct 14 2004

Thursday 14 October 2004: 1400 - ***

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

1 - 999

Thu Mar 18 2004

Thursday 18 March 2004: 1 - 999

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

1800 - **

Mon Oct 18 2004

Monday 18 October 2004: 1800 - **

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

Chatham & District Rally - 75th/50th Anniversary

Wed Oct 1 2003

Wednesday 1 October 2003: Chatham and District last ran on October 1, 1955, having run for exactly 25 years. The Brown 'Uns were absorbed into the Maidstone & District fleet. To mark the occasions the Maidstone & District and East Kent Club brought some of their preserved fleet to The Historic Dockyard, Chatham on October 1, 2005. It coincided with a steam operating day, with a couple of the dockyard's preserved tank engines in service beside the rally site.

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

Maidstone centenary celebrations - 14.07.2004

Thu Jan 2 2003

Thursday 2 January 2003: Maidstone centenary celebrations - 14.07.2004

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

Maidstone Park and Ride

Wed Jan 1 2003

Wednesday 1 January 2003: Maidstone Park and Ride

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

June 2004 New services, buses bed in

Fri Jan 10 2003

Friday 10 January 2003: It was inevitable that what the marketeers demanded, the engineers would be unable to deliver..... or am I being jaundiced? There were still high-floor Volvo B10M (admittedly in yellow livery) running on scheduled services like the 133 route, and at least one Olympian in Arriva colours was spotted still in service in Strood on June 15 2004.

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

June 2004 New fleet meets oldtimers

Thu Jan 9 2003

Thursday 9 January 2003: After the tour of the Towns on the launch day, the buses are seen in the heart of the Historic Dockyard, parked on Museum Square with reminders of the company's distant past. There's a Bristol halfcab, a couple of AECs, an Atlantean and the recently-restored NBC Ailsa from the erstwhile Maidstone & District fleet.The new vehicles - Volvo B7 doubledeckers and Transbus MPD Dart Pointers - shared the limelight with seven preserved Maidstone & District buses in the Historic Dockyard. Two of the preserved vehicles - an Atlantean and a Leopard - are used alongside a converted milk float to provide public transport within the yards.

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

June 2004 - Medway launched

Wed Jan 8 2003

Wednesday 8 January 2003: The plan to run a convoy of 20 of the new buses around the Medway Towns worked very well (even if they failed to call at Gillingham and Rainham). The pictures show the convoy heading down Chatham Hill past Luton, and later on the Medway Towns Northern Link at the Strood end of the Medway Tunnel when the buses made two crossings for the benefit of local press and television photographers. The first deckers were 6401-10 (GN04 UDM/P/S-Z). Other vehicles that appeared and took part in the launch were 6418/20/23/32/39/41/4/5 (GN04 UEH/K/P/W/Z, GN04 UFH/K/P/R), plus two of the Transbus Darts.

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

June 2004 Medway minibuses depart

Wed Jan 8 2003

Wednesday 8 January 2003: The Optare Metroriders were sent off to Peterlee where there future was expected to be in Northumbria, or further north with Arriva's Scottish operations. The pictures show the fleet as they left half an hour late for the run to the north - just as the main body of the doubledeck fleet arrived...

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

June 2004 - Medway route map changes

Tue Jan 7 2003

Tuesday 7 January 2003: Someone plagirised Frank Pick's London Transport underground map to create the new Medway network map. And why not? It has never been bettered.

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

June 2004 - Medway's Darts are refurbished

Sat Jan 4 2003

Saturday 4 January 2003: Forty of the existing fleetof Dennis Darts have been refurbished for the new service pattern. They can be identified by the blue seat trim, and a white band across the front grill, between the cream and turquoise main colours.

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

Arriva Medway School buses

Wed Mar 5 2003

Wednesday 5 March 2003: Twelve vehicles have been painted into yellow school bus livery and will be consigned to those duties from June 14. The routes have been numbered in the 6xx series. Originally it was thought they would all be Northern Counties-bodied Volvo B10M-50, but one Leyland Olympian with NCME body (fleet number 5770) appeared in the school colours in the week prior to the influx. Its duties are to provide a free bus service to Sainsbury's superstore in Hempstead Valley. It was saved from the move by its lowheight configuration.

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

June 2004 - the last of the old Medway fleet

Sat Jan 4 2003

Saturday 4 January 2003: The majority of the buses have been transferred to other depots in the Arriva group. Twelve - all bar one Olympian being Volvo B10M/Northern Counties doubledeckers that began life with London and Country -have been transferred to school bus operations in a striking yellow. To think, National Bus considered using yellow for its National coach fleet. But it didn't want its old bangers mistaken for George Wimpy's contract bus fleet....

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

June 2004 Before the Medway changes

Fri Jan 3 2003

Friday 3 January 2003: The fleet included the troublesome and unloved Volvo B6 saloons (try travelling on them - then defend them!), Volvo Citybus doubledeckers now relegated to school bus work (well, on June 14 they will be), and high floor early Dennis Darts. No wonder the local paper spoke of mountaineering expenditions when boarding the local buses. And small wonder that Medway Council said they wanted something better - like vehicles, and services and ....

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex

6200 - ***

Sun Dec 10 2006

Sunday 10 December 2006: A chance to look at the variety of the Arriva Southern Counties fleet. If you are looking for Maidstone's Charter-marked Park & Ride scheme - please go to the 'Maidstone Park and Ride' collection.

Published in Arriva Southern Counties in Kent, Medway and Essex