Arriva Southend - Fleet

Fleet

Arriva Southend currently has a fleet of 63 buses in service, including 61 single-deckers. They also have one Ford Transit 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 new low-emission (Euro 5-compliant), CCTV-fitted Optare Versa V1110 midibuses were bought at a cost of £1.8 million for Service 9 and entered public service on 12 November 2011, after a press launch on the previous day.

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 coincided 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 The Olympians were transferred to Tonbridge in Kent for use on school contract services, but were later withdrawn and sold.

Single deckers:

• 27 Dennis Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointer
• 13 Dennis Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointer II
• 12 Optare Versa
• 9 DAF SB220/Plaxton Prestige

Double Decker: TBC