Arriva Sapphire: Route 280 (31/10/13)

Arriva have decided to up their game recently and introduce a 'Sapphire' branded service on four routes across the country. These services include a good frequency, leather seating, free wi-fi and on-board power sockets.

The first to be converted to Sapphire was Arriva Buses Wales route 1, running from Chester to Wrexham. These used existing Enviro400 buses (4402-4410), which were reregistered J100ABW-J900ABW, with ABW standing for Arriva Buses Wales.

A spare backup bus is a Wright Eclipse, numbered 2799 and registered J999ABW. I don't know if it was coincidental to have the '999' part in the registration (which came from the fleetcode), as it is the call for help bus!

The second to be converted to Sapphire was Arriva Midlands services 31 and 31A, running from Oadby to Leicester. These used existing Wright buses (4001-4010), which were reregistered with Northern Irish plates TUI7931-7940.

The third to be converted to Sapphire was Arriva Shires line 280, running from Aylesbury to Oxford via Thame. These used existing Enviro400 buses (5434-5440, 5452, 5453) which were the first Sapphire conversion buses to keep their original registrations! 5454 and 5455 act as spares, kitted out with Sapphire interior, wi-fi and sockets, but painted in standard Arriva interurban livery. Route 280 received the first Sapphire buses to feature the very smart white LED displays, the two preceding routes kept the original orange displays.

There is a fourth to be converted, route 7 between Durham and Darlington, towards the end of this year.

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Anyhow, since the 280 is the closest to London, I decided to cover that!
I began with a journey to Oxford, which by-the-way is brilliant for obs, with the fabulous Carfax tower in one direction and many other old buildings in the other.

Arriva 5453 / SN58ENY - Oxford City Ctr

Arriva 5438 / SN58EOK - Oxford City Ctr

Arriva 5455 / SN58EOB - Oxford City Ctr

Arriva 5438 / SN58EOK - Oxford City Ctr

Arriva 5436 / SN58EOH - Oxford City Ctr

Arriva 5435 / SN58EOG - Oxford City Ctr

Following the journey to Oxford, I did the 280 from end-to-end to Aylesbury Bus Stn. The journey was very peaceful, taking roughly an hour and twenty minutes, through the towns of Headington, Wheatley, Thame and Haddenham. Once at Aylesbury, I did some more observations. If you do want to go to Aylesbury for this, don't do them in the bus station as it is dark and gloomy - head outside the Friars Square as all the buses approach the bus station from there.

Arriva 5437 / SN58EOJ - Aylesbury Bus Stn

Arriva 5437 / SN58EOJ - Aylesbury Bus Stn

Arriva 5452 / SN58ENX - Aylesbury Bus Stn

Arriva 5452 / SN58ENX - Aylesbury Bus Stn

Arriva 5453 / SN58ENY - Aylesbury Bus Stn

Arriva also took the time and effort to produce a video for the 280 Sapphire service, which is here if you want to watch it.



Other pictures from the day:

Due to the upcoming introduction of Oxford's LEZ, Red Rose have had
to permanently allocate this Enviro200 (Euro V) to route 275. It is a
 very nice journey from Wycombe to Oxford, with speeds up to 58mph!

 

Oxford Bus 202 / BF09OXF - Route U1 - Oxford City Ctr
This is one of the special Brookes University buses, which can be used by all (similar to Uno services in North London)

Oxford Bus 351 / R1OXF - Route 3 - Oxford City Ctr
One of Oxford's new B5LH buses, making the company one of the greenest in the country.
Note also that all of Oxford's buses have specialised registrations, containing the three letters 'OXF' at the end to symbolise Oxford.

Thames Travel, which has recently been adopted into part of the Go-Ahead franchise along with Carousel, is also a big company in and around Oxford. Here we see 913 / OU08HGN in Oxford City Ctr

Arriva 6004 and 5157 having a small race outside Aylesbury Bus Stn

Redline MK63XAS - Route 4 - Aylesbury Bus Stn
One of their new Enviro200s, which are one of the first in Britain to have the small daytime running lights in the gap below the main headlights, which look very smart indeed.

Arriva Aylesbury's other services include route 300, running from Aylesbury to High Wycombe.
3921 / BK58URO is seen pulling in to Aylesbury Bus Stn.

More pics on my flickr.

Thanks for reading this post!

LJN 2013