Ah yes, Arriva, the sun-kissed Caribbean island, palm trees swaying in a gentle, refreshing breeze as holidaymakers relax in their deckchairs sipping cocktails. Sorry Ciao, Arriva is a bus company, not a tropical island. So change the picture!
Anyway, many public-transport users (or should ... Read review
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Advantages: provide a crucial public service Disadvantages: they're only after the profits
...sipping cocktails. Sorry Ciao, Arriva is a bus company, not a tropical island. So change the picture!
Anyway, many public-transport users (or should I say "victims"?) will be familiar with Arriva, which seems to operate bus services all over the place nowadays. Here in Leicester, Arriva took over the old Midland Fox service that connects the city with the village I live in.
As I don't drive, if I can't get ... ...reason.
The Arriva drivers in Leicester also seem to include a fair number of people who are either completely insane or...no, they must be completely insane. On a journey back home last week the driver nearly crashed into a van, then reversed 100 yards back down a main A-road, and then drove for about 10 seconds whilst reaching for something at his feet. It was slightly worrying, to put it mildly.
Ah yes, Arriva, the sun-kissed Caribbean island, palm trees swaying in a gentle, refreshing breeze as holidaymakers relax in their deckchairs sipping cocktails. Sorry Ciao, Arriva is a bus company, not a tropical island. So change the picture!
Anyway, many public-transport users (or should I say "victims"?) will be familiar with Arriva, which seems to operate bus services all over the place nowadays. Here in Leicester, Arriva took over the old Midland Fox service that connects the city with the village I live in.
As I don't drive, if I can't get a lift I either have to cycle or rely on the bus. We have a half-hourly service, which isn't that bad compared to some places. And with the government pledged to increasing the use of public transport, and Arriva's own website (www.arriva.co.uk) boasting the slogan "Committed to providing a better service", things can only get better, right?
Wrong.
There are just so many things wrong with Arriva, it's difficult to know where to start. The costs are prohibitive, a journey into Leicester takes no more than 20 minutes, yet a single costs £1.70. If I buy a return I can get a return to Nottingham on the train for the same amount.
On the same subject, fares seem to be increased all the time. If the government puts up fuel duty, fares go up. If the government reduces fuel duty, fares go up. You know you are in trouble when the bus pulls in with a big "REVISED FARES" at the front - it never says "HUGELY INCREASED FARES" for some reason.
The Arriva drivers in Leicester also seem to include a fair number of people who are either completely insane or...no, they must be completely insane. On a journey back home last week the driver nearly crashed into a van, then reversed 100 yards back down a main A-road, and then drove for about 10 seconds whilst reaching for something at his feet. It was slightly worrying, to put it mildly.
Socialising is also quite difficult seeing as the last bus back from the city is 6.15pm. As a general rule, most of the good nights out I can remember (or have vague recollections of) ended quite a bit later than 6.15pm. But I musn't grumble. Plus there's no service on Sundays. Another hilarious occurrence is when you are waiting for the last bus and it never turns up. Oh, my aching sides!
The one good thing Arriva do in my area is provide services that runs between Peterborough and Leicester every 2 hours. Not only does this link the two cities, but also the many small villages and places like Uppingham that lie inbetween. Because the village I live in has no doctor's surgery this service is also vital for elderly and people with no cars to reach the surgery without having to fork out £10 for a taxi. It also enables me to look for jobs west of where I live, and even give me the possibilty of commuting to Peterborough.
So hurrah!
Except...Arriva (that is "Committed to providing a better service" Arriva) are now axing this bus route because it's not used enough. Whenever I've been on the service the bus has been full, but I'm sure that's beside the point.
Maybe "Committed to providing a non-existent service" would be a better slogan.
Advantages: gets you from A to B Disadvantages: A is not on the bus route!
...that I have to use Arriva buses only. This however is not too much of a snag.
After arranging my working hours over the festive period, I decided to check up on the bus timetables for running times – a little foresight came into play here. Just because I was working does not necessarily mean that public transport is running! Sorry, please excuse the overwhelming sarcasm, nasty trait of mine. Anyway, the quickest way to do this was, wait for ... ...certain parts of it. So Arriva get subsidies from companies, yet can’t obviously be bothered to serve the rest of the general public. What a warming, comforting thought that is. Tell you what Arriva, why don’t I pay a percentage of my annual wage to you in the vain attempt to have a service that I can rely upon. I don’t blame the hotline operator. I don’t blame the bus driver. They have jobs to do. Apparently Arriva pulled ...
paulc20001 04.01.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Arriva
Advantages: Public transport Disadvantages: Unreliable, grumpy drivers, expensive
I live in Surrey and have been using the local bus service for years!! For over 6 years anyway! The bus company is called Arriva.
My journey into town takes about 15 mins by bus. Why dont I walk, you say? I walk it sometimes in the summer and it takes about 40mins, I know it doesn't sound very long but it is after you've worked 9am - 6pm, you just want to get home!
Anyway, there are 2 buses which run in my area, 1 goes the long way round the estate ... ...the town.
The buses run from my area every 20mins, so its quite regular which is good, how-ever after 6pm, they seem to run every 30mins, then after 7pm, 1 bus every hour.
Sundays are quite awkward for me, as I have to be at work for 11am, so i have to get a bus which gets me into town about 10:10, so Im waiting round town for at least 40mins! Also buses going back to my estate from Guildford on a sunday aren't very suitable as I finish at 5pm, ...
kiss_me2070 28.03.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Arriva
Advantages: The new style buses look great Disadvantages: as op
...want a positive opinion of Arriva then you'll not find one here (or pretty much anywhere else).
A couple of starting points.
~ I'm slating Arriva WOKING, I'dont know about services in the rest of the country although from other ops I guess I'm not alone.
~ GUILDFORD runs a decent service, the busses always turn up and the staff are plesent
~ I'm only really writing this as I liked the idea for the title (I had ½ hour to think of it this morning ... ...sister used to date an Arriva bus driver, this is NOT a personal attack, I liked him and considerED him a 'good bloke'
I use Arriva on a weekly basis for occasional trips to work (all this week) and visiting friends. Arriva is the principle service in Woking having pretty much destroyed the local compitition. Arriva seem to like nothing better than taking over a new route and then closing it again after six months. I understand that the local council ...
chickens_chickens_chickens 05.06.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Arriva
Advantages: gr8 staff Disadvantages: not many buses in my area
...very negative response towards the Arriva company and personally I think that's wrong!!!
Arriva is a Sunderland based company (I live in Newcastle) that operates throughout the north east. Although there are only 4 buses with the arriva sign on it per hour to 2 different destinations in my area i believe there are enough to give a satisfactory service. Compared to the other big north eastern company go north east. They still produce a great quality ... ...using only arriva.
the arriva one day ticket is also available for children. This consists of a £3 charge so that the child can travel anywere in the north east on as many arriva buses as is desired with that ticket.
There is also the option for a explorer ticket. This is £4.75 for a child and allows you to travel anywere in the north east all day being able to switch between different bus companies and metro services also.
-----------------------------------------------------Adult ...
mcgoo2002 11.05.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Arriva
Advantages: New and modern buses, more reliable service Disadvantages: Several routes have a very limited service
...~ The introduction of Arriva to the Maidstone area had to be deemed a good thing. The service realistically couldn’t be any worse than the one we had been subject to for many years from M & D, but would it actually be an improvement?
The fleet of buses brought to Maidstone by the Arriva company are mostly newer vehicles. Generally clean, the interiors are cheery with spotted fabric seats and rather bright green trimmings. Not a factor of major ... ...buses is one area that Arriva didn’t make many alterations to, and I feel they should have done. Several routes have just one or two buses an hour, and these services frequently stop earlier in the evening than is practical for many people.
We are encouraged by the government to use public transport where possible to lessen traffic on roads, but if you work much past 5:30pm in Maidstone or many of the surrounding areas you may well find there ...
wiggglypufff 23.02.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Arriva
Advantages: Gets you from A to B...eventually. Friendly staff Disadvantages: Slow, overcrowding, punctuality, horrible toilets
I have had the 'pleasure' to travel Arriva Wales frequently. My boyfriend is studying at Aberystwyth University so I find myself changing at Birmingham for an Aber train.
About Arriva: They have 116 trains covering a network of over 1009 miles, with 1860 employees. Apparently they run 788 services a day during the week but there are no figures for how many of these services actually run, many are cancelled every day! According to their website, the route I take has an average 82.5% punctuality?
Buying tickets: Online via the website, on the trainline.com, nationalrail.co.uk, on the phone or at a station. If you get on at an unstaffed station, common in rural wales, you may buy a ticket on the train from an employee. In my experience Tickets are hardly ever checked though and there are no ticket gates at Aber. This is no excuse to ...
Advantages: The scenary is nice, if you can see out of the high windows Disadvantages: Slow, old, unreliable trains
This train company delivers a very poor service - not only are their trains often running late, but the trains themselves are of very poor quality. The Heart of Wales Line is a notable example of this - it is still using very dated Class 153 DMUs which were manufactured in the early 90s, and now look ancient compared to modern trains, for instance those run by First Great Western or London Midland. If the trains were any older, they would be running on steam!
It's about time that Arriva Trains Wales started investing some money back into their own lines and improved the reliability and quality of their trains. The Heart of Wales Line boasts that it is idyllic and romantic, yet it is hard to enjoy travelling on such a route when the seats are unconfortable, the windows too high to see out of, and the trains running behind time ...
Advantages: You eventually get to your destination. Disadvantages: Over crowding, often late, difficult staff.
I have recently had a VERY bad experience with Arriva trains Wales, so I am sorry if this review sounds a little "ranting". I will try and deliver a fair and balanced review of their services.
Firstly a little information about Arriva trains Wales. Arriva trains Wales took control of the franchise previously operated by Wales & Borders Trains on 7 December 2003. They have a fleet of aprox. 116 trains. Their route covers over 2,600 miles and they employ 1,860 members of staff. They also operate around 780 services a day on weekdays.
Their website states that they are trying to achieve reliable train services, clean, attractive stations, good quality levels of information, local, effective, caring management and helpful, friendly employees.
The URL of their website is: http://www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk. The website is in both Welsh ...
