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The story
History
Origins and early expansion
Arriva Southern Counties traces its origins to the privatization of the National Bus Company in the 1980s. In November 1986, Maidstone & District was sold in a management buyout to a newly formed company, Einkorn Limited.
Einkorn expanded its operations through several key acquisitions:
In June 1988, it acquired New Enterprise Coaches of Tonbridge.
In December 1991, it took over Kent County Council contract services previously operated by Shearings.
In June 1992, it purchased Boro'line Maidstone, further strengthening its presence in Kent.
British Bus acquisition
In 1990, British Bus acquired the Alder Valley operations in Cranleigh, Guildford, and Woking. This was followed by the acquisitions of Colchester Borough Transport and Southend Transport in 1993.
In April 1995, British Bus acquired Einkorn Limited, which had become a significant regional operator. British Bus already owned Kentish Bus (acquired in 1994) and Londonlinks (acquired in 1988). Following the acquisition, Einkorn was renamed Invictaway in August 1995, reviving a brand name previously used by Maidstone & District for London commuter services.
Cowie Group and rebranding
In July to August 1996, the Cowie Group plc acquired British Bus, which owned several bus companies in southern England, including Kentish Bus, London & Country, and Maidstone & District, all of which had previously been subsidiaries of British Bus.
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In October 1997, Cowie Group announced it would change its name to Arriva plc, as part of a strategic rebranding to unify its various transport businesses under a single identity. The rebrand was approved by shareholders on 6 November 1997, and the new name reflected the company's European ambitions and focus on integrated transport services.
As part of the subsequent rollout of the new branding, Invictaway, the legal name for the operations that included Maidstone & District and other southern subsidiaries, was renamed Arriva Southern Counties in April 1998. Around the same time, the operations of London & Country were also transferred into Arriva Southern Counties, under Arriva Guildford & West Surrey.
The restructuring of former British Bus subsidiaries was carried out as follows:
Maidstone & District was divided into Arriva Kent & Sussex and Arriva Medway Towns.
Kentish Bus was split between Arriva Kent Thameside and Arriva Kent & Sussex.
London & Country became Arriva Guildford & West Surrey.
Londonlinks became Arriva Croydon & North Surrey.
Further reorganisation
Later restructuring saw Arriva Southern Counties take responsibility for:
Arriva Guildford & West Surrey
Arriva West Sussex
Arriva Southend
Arriva Kent Thameside
Meanwhile, most of Arriva Croydon & North Surrey was transferred to Arriva London, the group's dedicated London bus division.
Key developments timeline
2001: Crawley depot was sold to Metrobus.
2001: The Merstham depot was closed.
2004: Arriva Colchester was sold to Tellings-Golden Miller.
2007: Arriva Colchester returned to Arriva ownership, but not under Arriva Southern Counties.
2009: The Horsham depot was sold to Metrobus.
2015: Arriva acquired Network Colchester and Network Harlow from Tellings-Golden Miller, rebranding them as Arriva Colchester and Arriva Harlow.
2021: Sheerness depot was closed, with routes 360, 361, and 367 taken over by Chalkwell Coaches.
2021: Routes 306 and 308 were withdrawn from Northfleet and taken over by Redroute Buses.
2021: Guildford depot was closed, ending Arriva's Surrey operations; routes were transferred to Stagecoach South.
2024: Fastrack routes were transferred to Go-Ahead London.
2025: Route 477 was withdrawn from Northfleet and taken over by Kent Country.
2026: Route 414 is being withdrawn from Northfleet and taken over by Kent Country.
From Wikipedia’s article on Arriva Southern Counties, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3