Arriva Yorkshire discussion

[Ballyheigue]

E400 1890, Versa 791. E200s 1048/1054, Pulsars 1451/1452/1453 all withdrawn

Wowsers, 791 withdrawn? Would have thought they'd keep them a fair bit longer given they're only 14 plate. They do drive a bit strange however, they feel a bit like a sherman tank lol.

 

[YorkRailFan]

Pulsar 1445 also withdrawn. Are all the Versas being withdrawn now or is it just 791?

 

[Andyh82]

Wowsers, 791 withdrawn? Would have thought they'd keep them a fair bit longer given they're only 14 plate. They do drive a bit strange however, they feel a bit like a sherman tank lol.

They might be moving to another Arriva company where they would fit in a bit better?

 

[Kaliwax]

They might be moving to another Arriva company where they would fit in a bit better?

791 been sat back at Cas depot for months in a state, will most likely be scrapped. The versas don't seem to be the most reliable of buses

 

[YorkRailFan]

791 been sat back at Cas depot for months in a state, will most likely be scrapped. The versas don't seem to be the most reliable of buses

Are the rest of the Versas staying around for the foreseeable future?

 

[Kaliwax]

Are the rest of the Versas staying around for the foreseeable future?

I'd assume so. Only rumours going around at the moment are some of the e200minis being replaced by e200mmcs from North East, E400MMCs from Ashington replacing the E400s older ones when Ashington get their new buses, and Some E400s from St Helens to replace the Geminis at Selby when St Helens get franchised later on in the year.

ONLY RUMOURS, don't take anything for gospel.

 

[YorkRailFan]

I'd assume so. Only rumours going around at the moment are some of the e200minis being replaced by e200mmcs from North East, E400MMCs from Ashington replacing the E400s older ones when Ashington get their new buses, and Some E400s from St Helens to replace the Geminis at Selby when St Helens get franchised later on in the year.

ONLY RUMOURS, don't take anything for gospel.

Interesting, the Versas always seem like a strange Subfleet in the Yorkshire fleet. Would be good to see Selby get some newer deckers though.

 

[stevieinselby]

Would be good to see Selby get some newer deckers though.

If the plan is to replace 16 year old Geminis with 11 year old E400s on the 415 then consider me highly unimpressed. It ought to be a premium interurban service and deserves much better than that, it's really poor that the Geminis are still the mainstay of the route ... if it already had 11 year old E400s then I would want to see them being replaced with new buses and the old ones cascaded pretty imminently, not bog standard buses of that age being brought in!

 

[Kaliwax]

An idea I much prefer would be to send the Streetdecks from Wakefield to Selby for the 415 only 6 years old and in sapphire spec.

If you compare all of Arriva's Premium routes in Yorkshire, 415 has been neglected and behind for years.

 

[YorkRailFan]

At this point, even 11 year old E400s are an upgrade and improvement for the 415. The Geminis are bad, but certainly better than when an E200 gets allocated. I wouldn't mind the E400s being a short-term replacement for the Geminis until newer stock can be brought in, but I very much doubt that is going to happen.

 

[buslad1988]

If the plan is to replace 16 year old Geminis with 11 year old E400s on the 415 then consider me highly unimpressed. It ought to be a premium interurban service and deserves much better than that, it's really poor that the Geminis are still the mainstay of the route ... if it already had 11 year old E400s then I would want to see them being replaced with new buses and the old ones cascaded pretty imminently, not bog standard buses of that age being brought in!

You appear to have very high expectations! Sadly that’s not the reality of running buses in the UK these days… doesn’t matter if it’s Arriva, First or many other operators.

 

[stevieinselby]

You appear to have very high expectations! Sadly that’s not the reality of running buses in the UK these days… doesn’t matter if it’s Arriva, First or many other operators.

It definitely does make a difference! Arriva's fleet overall has fallen well below the standards of First, Go-ahead, Stagecoach and many mid-sized groups and operators.
Look at the investment Transdev are making in their more important routes (and some of their less important routes as well!). First and Stagecoach have made huge investment in moves to electric.
I'm not saying that 16-year-old Geminis don't have their place, they're absolutely fine for shorter or lower profile routes, but it's hard to imagine any of the other fleets would still be running them on a key route like the 415, at least not without imminent plans to replace them with new buses.

 

[Andyh82]

It definitely does make a difference! Arriva's fleet overall has fallen well below the standards of First, Go-ahead, Stagecoach and many mid-sized groups and operators.
Look at the investment Transdev are making in their more important routes (and some of their less important routes as well!). First and Stagecoach have made huge investment in moves to electric.
I'm not saying that 16-year-old Geminis don't have their place, they're absolutely fine for shorter or lower profile routes, but it's hard to imagine any of the other fleets would still be running them on a key route like the 415, at least not without imminent plans to replace them with new buses.

Similar length routes that First run locally like Halifax to Huddersfield and Huddersfield to Bradford have similar aged vehicles, and at the moment someone is complaining in the Transdev that even Coastliner are using older vehicles into York

 

[Kaliwax]

I seem to recall them trying E400MMCs as a full allocation on the 415 a couple of years back, with the geminis coming to Castleford, but for some reason it didn't work, out and the geminis went back to Selby.

Reminded me when Arriva sent the Spectras to Selby, that was a huge disaster.

 

[Ballyheigue]

Similar length routes that First run locally like Halifax to Huddersfield and Huddersfield to Bradford have similar aged vehicles, and at the moment someone is complaining in the Transdev that even Coastliner are using older vehicles into York

No, just to correct and not take this off topic I'm complaining that Transdev are using 62 plate bus seated buses on long distance services, although even on the short stretch from Leeds to York which is well over an hour they're still uncomfortable.

 

[M60lad]

I know that they might be of a similar age but having ridden on quite a number of St Helens E400s all I can say is that I think that Selby are getting quite an improvement over the current Geminis as the Merseyside E400s have quite a good turn of speed to be honest so bar any traffic problems I think that they will be able to keep to the current timetable on 415s and any other routes that they get allocated to.

 

[YorkRailFan]

Similar length routes that First run locally like Halifax to Huddersfield and Huddersfield to Bradford have similar aged vehicles, and at the moment someone is complaining in the Transdev that even Coastliner are using older vehicles into York

The 415 is a far higher frequency service though. In fact, its more frequent than the train between York & Selby. It used to be branded under 'Arriva MAX' and now usually has 'Sapphire' branded Geminis, although the odd 'Interurban' shows up. It's probably the most high profile service Selby runs.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 8 Feb 2026 ==

E200 MMC 1074 has lost its route branding for the 231/232.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

You appear to have very high expectations! Sadly that’s not the reality of running buses in the UK these days… doesn’t matter if it’s Arriva, First or many other operators.

Yeah - First Wessex will treat you to a 57 or 08 plate Gemini on the Jurassic Coaster routes though more likely, it's a 12 plate e400.

Or even today, First Bristol on the 522 (Bath - Radstock - Keynsham - Bristol) have a full roster of 2007-9 Geminis.

 

[YorkRailFan]

E200 MMC 1072 has lost route branding for the 231/232. Is Arriva moving away from route branding for the 231/232 now?

 

[billio]

It definitely does make a difference! Arriva's fleet overall has fallen well below the standards of First, Go-ahead, Stagecoach and many mid-sized groups and operators.
Look at the investment Transdev are making in their more important routes (and some of their less important routes as well!). First and Stagecoach have made huge investment in moves to electric.
I'm not saying that 16-year-old Geminis don't have their place, they're absolutely fine for shorter or lower profile routes, but it's hard to imagine any of the other fleets would still be running them on a key route like the 415, at least not without imminent plans to replace them with new buses.

Sitting downstairs on a 415 last week, I noticed two small posters stating 'New Buses in 2026'. I would be rather upset if this meant 9 year old buses. Speaking as a passenger the service works pretty well but most of the buses do look dowdy and some of them leak.

 

[Ballyheigue]

Sitting downstairs on a 415 last week, I noticed two small posters stating 'New Buses in 2026'. I would be rather upset if this meant 9 year old buses. Speaking as a passenger the service works pretty well but most of the buses do look dowdy and some of them leak.

I've noticed people in North Yorkshire have high expectations, people in West Yorkshire just think 'oh well, it's a bus, they all look tatty and leak, I'll just put me hood up'.

 

[YorkRailFan]

E200 MMC 1071 has had 231/232 branding removed.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

I've noticed people in North Yorkshire have high expectations, people in West Yorkshire just think 'oh well, it's a bus, they all look tatty and leak, I'll just put me hood up'.

People in North Yorkshire have high expectations...?? They're happy to have a bus most of the time given how sparse the network is and in fair chunks of the county, it's volunteer minibuses or NYCC welfare buses working between schools.

 

[Kaliwax]

Rumours going around 3023-3025, 3 of the stock e200mmcs are going to Hecky and Wakey, I'd assume Arriva have had lots of complaints about mini e200s appearing on the 229/254/255/200/201

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 18 Feb 2026 ==

I meant Hecky not Wakey

 

[YorkRailFan]

Rumours going around 3023-3025, 3 of the stock e200mmcs are going to Hecky and Wakey, I'd assume Arriva have had lots of complaints about mini e200s appearing on the 229/254/255/200/201

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 18 Feb 2026 ==

I meant Hecky not Wakey

Any news of 3026? Tracked once incorrectly last month as a Gemini but never again.

 

[Kaliwax]

No news wonder if they are getting an internal refurb before they enter service like the ones in Wales are

 

[yorksrob]

Nothing will improve until this bunch of cowboys is removed, once and for all.

 

[YorkRailFan]

E200 MMC 1075 has had its route branding for the 231/232 removed.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 Mar 2026 ==

E200 MMC 1070 has had route branding for the 231/232 removed.

 

[Kaliwax]

Versa 793 withdrawn

 

[YorkRailFan]

Versa 793 withdrawn

Are the rest of the Versas going as well now?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 13 Mar 2026 ==

Pulsar 1 1434 has been withdrawn from the fleet.