.jpg) Wright StreetLite at Bluewater bus station in December 2014 | |
| Parent | Arriva UK Bus |
|---|---|
| Service area | Kent |
| Service type | Bus services |
| Depots | 1 |
Arriva Kent Thameside Limited,[1] trading as Arriva Kent Thameside, is a bus operator based in north-west Kent, England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus. The company operates services in Northfleet, Gravesend & Dartford as part of the Arriva Southern Counties division from their Northfleet depot.
Northfleet depot runs a mixture of commercial and tendered services in Dartford, Gravesend and surrounding areas.
Northfleet currently operate the following bus services:[2]
| Route | Start | End |
|---|---|---|
| 414/414A/414B | Dartford[a] | Horton Kirby |
| Sapphire 470 | Dartford | Gravesend |
| 477 | Orpington | Dartford |
| Sapphire 480 | Dartford | Gravesend |
| Sapphire 480A | Gravesend | Riverview Park |
| 481 | Ebbsfleet | Riverview Park |
| 483 | Bluewater | Kings Farm |
| 489 | Gravesend | New Ash Green |
| Sapphire 490 | Bluewater | Gravesend |
| Sapphire 490A | Gravesend | Valley Drive |
| 497 | Temple Hill | Ebbsfleet Academy |
| Fastrack A[3] | Dartford | Bluewater |
| Fastrack AZ | Amazon LCY3 | Dartford or Gravesend |
| Fastrack B[3] | Temple Hill | Gravesend |
Northfleet also run the ArrivaClick demand responsive service which covers Darent Valley Hospital, Bluewater, Greenhithe, Swanscombe and Ebbsfleet Valley[4] using Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vehicles.
As of July 2023, the Arriva Kent Thameside fleet consists of approximately 54 vehicles.
The fleet consists mainly of Wright StreetLite, Dennis Dart Plaxton Pointer, Dennis Dart Caetano Nimbus, Alexander Dennis Enviro200 and Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC buses.[5]
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Main article: Arriva § Livery |
The current Arriva corporate livery is light blue across the whole of the vehicle with a pale blue and white stripe at the front of the bus.[6]
This is currently replacing the previous corporate livery which was aquamarine with a cream "cow-horn" at the front with a dark blue skirt. This livery can still be found on many older Arriva Kent Thameside vehicles.
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Main article: Arriva Sapphire |
The current Arriva Sapphire livery uses the same light blue colour across the majority of the bus although the front of the bus is dark blue with a white and silver stripe separating the two colours. Arriva Kent Thameside operate Sapphire liveried buses on routes 480 and 490 which contain branding for the two services.[7]
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As well as the corporate and Sapphire liveries, the buses used on the Fastrack routes A and B have their own specialist livery.
The buses use a purple base livery with a light and dark blue shimmer effect towards the rear with the Fastrack logo on the front, sides and rear of the bus.
The Fastrack services replaced route 100. The buses on this route used the specialist Bluewater livery in March 1999. This was allover blue, with a water shimmer effect. The service using this livery were replaced by Fastrack on 26 March 2006.[8] In November 2024, Go Ahead London will be taking over the Fastrack routes which will introduce electric buses.
