Arriva Sapphire

Arriva Sapphire is a luxury brand used by various Arriva bus subsidiaries in the United Kingdom.

History

In February 2013, Arriva UK Bus announced that it would launch a Luxury service under the Sapphire brand for its bus services in the United Kingdom. It is similar to the Stagecoach Gold brand launched by Stagecoach Group 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 this route now uses any vehicles 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. The logo was given another update in 2018 to include the company's new corporate identity.

In 2019, Arriva Midlands routes 1, 2, 2E running between Walsall and Cannock/Huntington were downgraded to regular buses after six years of Sapphire. Further routes across the country have since been withdrawn or removed from the Sapphire brand.

In 2022, Arriva started to phase out the Sapphire brand nationally, with the majority of buses being repainted into the standard Arriva livery or replaced with new buses.

Routes

As of October 2025, there were 10 Arriva Sapphire routes.

Service no. Route start Route end Arriva Buses Wales 1 Wrexham Chester Arriva Shires & Essex 5/6 Lakes Estate Wolverton Arriva Southern Counties 480Gravesend Temple Hill490/491 Singlewell/Riverview Park Arriva Yorkshire 163LeedsCastleford 168 229 Huddersfield 415 York Selby

Former services Service no. Route start Route end Notes Arriva Buses Wales 12/X12RhylLlandudnoRoute removed from the Sapphire brand in 2022, with the repaint of existing buses into standard livery. 10/10A Connah's Quay ChesterRoute removed from the Sapphire brand in 2024, with the repaint of existing buses into standard livery, as well as being transferred to Arriva Merseyside. Arriva North East 1/5/5A Darlington Bishop Auckland/Crook/Tow LawRoute removed from the Sapphire brand in 2024, any vehicle operates this route now, buses have also been debranded. 3/X3/X3A/X4Middlesbrough Lingdale/Skelton/Loftus/WhitbyRoute removed from the Sapphire brand, with the allocation now formed of buses in various liveries and specifications. 5/5AEasingtonRoute removed from the Sapphire brand in 2022, with the repaint of existing buses into standard livery. 6DurhamBishop Auckland/CockfieldRoute removed from the Sapphire brand in 2022, with the repaint of existing buses into standard livery. 7 DarlingtonRoute removed from the Sapphire brand, with the allocation now formed of buses in various liveries and specifications. 22SunderlandRoute removed from the Sapphire brand in 2022, with the repaint of existing buses into standard livery. 23HartlepoolRoute removed from the Sapphire brand in 2022, with the repaint of existing buses into standard livery. 24DurhamRoute removed from the Sapphire brand in 2022, with the repaint of existing buses into standard livery. X21/X22NewbigginNewcastleRoutes removed from the Sapphire brand in 2022, with the introduction of new buses and repaint of existing buses into standard livery. 43MorpethRoute removed from the Sapphire brand, with the allocation now formed of buses in various liveries and specifications. 44/45DinningtonRoutes removed from the Sapphire brand, with the allocation now formed of buses in various liveries and specifications. Arriva North West 38CreweMacclesfieldArriva North West ceased operating service in April 2023, route now operated by D&G Bus362Wigan ChorleyArriva North West ceased operating the route in September 2023, now operated by Go North West under the Bee Network franchising system. Buses branded for this route were transferred to Wythenshawe Depot and Hemel Hempstead, and can be seen operating various Arriva routes in South Manchester and Hertfordshire.575BoltonArriva North West ceased operating the route in September 2023, now operated by Go North West under the Bee Network franchising system. Buses branded for this route were transferred to Wythenshawe Depot and Hemel Hempstead, and can be seen operating various Arriva routes in South Manchester and Hertfordshire.263ManchesterAltrinchamRoute effectively removed from the Sapphire brand in September 2023, with existing buses being withdrawn from service and replaced by a variety of Sapphire and non-Sapphire buses cascaded from Bolton Depot, which has been shut down due to the introduction of the Bee Network. Arriva Yorkshire 166LeedsCastlefordRoute withdrawn and replaced in part by revised routes 163 and 164. 167Route withdrawn and replaced in part by revised route 168. 110 Wakefield Route removed from the Sapphire brand, with the allocation now formed of buses in various liveries and specifications. 168 CastlefordRoute removed from the Sapphire brand, with the allocation now formed of buses in various liveries and specifications. 231/232 Wakefield HuddersfieldRoute removed from the Sapphire brand, with the allocation now formed of buses in various liveries and specifications. Arriva Midlands 31/31A/31ELeicester OadbyServices 31/31E now operated by standard buses.Service 31A was ceased in March 2020 until January 2023 when it was reinstated X3Market HarboroughFrequency reduced and Sapphire buses moved elsewhere in 2021.X84Rugby Mainly being used on normal buses, however sometimes Sapphire branded buses are used. 38DerbySinfinVehicles repainted into standard Arriva livery in early 2022. 110TamworthBirminghamRoute removed from the Sapphire brand in 2022, with the repaint of existing buses into standard livery. 158LeicesterHinckley/Nuneaton Vehicles are being repainted from January 2023. Arriva The Shires 133ColchesterStansted AirportWithdrawn on the 1st of June 2025. 320Hemel HempsteadRickmansworthWithdrawn on 17 April 2022 and replaced by new route 20 and extended route 321. 321LutonWatfordBuses repainted into Arriva Standard Livery throughout 2021 and route declassified. 280AylesburyOxford Route replaced by routes X7 and X8. X7/X8 Routes withdrawn in July 2024. Arriva Southern Counties 101GillinghamMaidstoneBuses repainted into Arriva Journey Mark.470Gravesend DartfordRoute withdrawn and replaced by the revised route 480480ARiverview ParkRoute renumbered to 491490ASinglewellRoute renumbered to 490 700BluewaterChathamBuses repainted into Arriva Journey Mark, route now uses any suitable vehicle.

Vehicles Buses have leather seats, free WiFi, power ports, and a modified two tone blue livery. The initial pilot routes commenced with a mix of refurbished double deck buses and new Wright Pulsar bodied VDL SB200s. Mostly since then, new buses had been purchased, primarily Alexander Dennis Enviro400s, Wright StreetLites and Wright StreetDecks. A number of Wright Pulsar/Pulsar 2 vehicles had been refurbished to operate Sapphire routes. In 2020 a selection of Optare Versas in Yorkshire were repainted into the new Arriva Sapphire livery.

Arriva Sapphire

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