THE SHOWBUS LONDON & HOME COUNTIES BUS IMAGE GALLERY
Arriva the Shires | Alexander Dennis Enviro doubledeck buses
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 Alongside award winning Enviro300 3566 (KX09GYT) at SHOWBUS 2009 was another recent delivery, Enviro400 5438 (SN58EOK) branded for the 280 service linking Oxford and Aylesbury. |
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 The SHOWBUS 2009 Enviro400 5438 is seen in Oxford in June the following year on the 280 outside the Said Business School near Oxford Station. |
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 Seen on its approach to the Station, 5438 has a rear ad for Aylesbury Scrap Metals, a common feature on Aylesbury buses. Luckily 5438 is some way off visiting ASM, though the adverts on some Aylesbury buses had a prophetic destiny about them. The Enviro is following buses from the two competing local operators: Stagecoach Oxford and the Oxford Bus Company. |
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 Sister vehicle Enviro400 5434 (SN58EOF) was seen in Oxford in February 2011. |
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 When still new 5434 was seen receiving attention at High Wycombe depot. Wycombe did some of the heavier engineering on behalf of Aylesbury depot. |
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 Enviro 5434 again in June 2010 heading for Aylesbury at Headington on the outskirts of Oxford City. |
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 On Oxford High Street in June 2010 is 280-branded Enviro400 5437 (SN58EOJ). |
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Enviro400 5437 is seen again approaching Aylesbury town centre in June 2012.
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 The first of the Enviro400 build, 5452 (SN58ENX), is seen leaving Aylesbury the same day. The batch of vehicles was numbered around an existing fleet of Alexander ALX400 bodied Dennis Tridents, some of which had transferred out with the Southend operations. |
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 New for route 4 in Watford, 5455 (SN58EOB) was overhauled and fitted with new blinds and transferred to Aylesbury for the 280. It is seen in High Wycombe on the 300 to Aylesbury in September 2013. Shorty after it was transferred to Arriva Southern Counties (Kent Thameside) Picture ref A0261 |
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 Seen in Watford in September 2014 and branded for the 320 to Hemel Hempstead is 5458 (SN58EOE). Subsequently the route and bus have been rebranded with a MAX style livery. Picture ref A5123 |
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 In 2013 the 280 was one of the first Arriva routes to be upgraded to Sapphire specification. The existing fleet of Enviro400 buses were refurbished with fewer e-leather seats, wifi and charging points. Seen in July that year passing through the village of Tiddington between Oxford and Thame is 5453 (SN58ENY). |
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 A rear nearside view of 5453 as it pauses at the village stop, with a Motts coach, Jonckheere bodied Volvo B10M 4442MT, parked in front. The Oxford bound bus is well loaded on this early Saturday morning run into the city. |
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 In the less than welcoming underground cave of Aylesbury Bus Station a healthy number of passengers are boarding 5440 (SN58EOO) in October 2013. |
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 Ready to roll and 5440 departs the subterranean gloom for Oxford. |
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 Sapphire Enviro400 5438 (SN58EOK) heads into Oxford on a late July evening in 2014 followed by Oxford Bus hybrid Enviro400H 306 (HX11OXF) from the Park & Ride fleet. Picture ref A4019 |
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 On an early evening run into Oxford in August 2014 5436 (SN58EOH) is seen passing through Tiddington. Picture ref A4071 |
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 In 2014 emission controls introduced in Oxford meant that the buses used on the 280 had to be upgraded to Euro5 standard and new Enviro400 buses arrived, cascading the existing fleet, some of which were used to upgrade the 101 (Gillingham to Maidstone) to Sapphire standard. New 5459 (YY14WFT) is seen arriving at the final SHOWBUS at Duxford in 2014.
Picture ref 14-0052 |
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 The following July SHOWBUS exhibit 5459 was seen in Tiddington on an early evening Oxford trip.
Picture ref B258 |
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 Heading in the opposite direction was 5469 (SN15LPZ).
Picture ref B259 |
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 Arriving in Oxford on a Saturday morning in July 2015 is 5463 (SN15LPO).
Picture ref B465 |
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 Cascaded from the 280 to the Rickmasworth-Hemel 320 was 5434 (SN58EOF) seen in Hemel Hempstead Bus Station in August 2015.
Picture ref B888 |
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 Another of the 320 branded cascaded 280 buses is seen arriving in the grounds of Woburn Abbey for SHOWBUS 2015, 5440 (SN58EOO).
Picture ref 15-3157 |
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 Aylesbury depot tried to steal the show with a new 280, 5461 (SN15LPK), but the winning Arriva bus was a new Streetlite from High Wycombe depot.
Picture ref 15-3071 |
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 Seen in Milton Keynes on Midsummer Boulevard in October 2015 was 5466 (SN15LPV) on the X60 from Aylesbury via Buckingham, a painstakingly long end to end route, typically 90 minutes, whereas Red Rose offer a service taking 30 minutes less. The Enviro400 is passing a Motts Travel Alexander ALX400 bodied Volvo B7TL on a special shuttle to the Japan v Samoa Rugby World Cup match in the city.
Picture ref B998 |
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 On a lovely sunny day in October 2018 SHOWBUS Woburn entry 5461 was seen approaching Thame town centre and still looking very smart.
Picture ref C2030 |
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A complete rebrand of Arriva nationally meant 5463 (SN15LPO), seen in Oxford in July 2019, was reliveried in the new Sapphire livery. A few years later Sapphire livery was giving way to the standard livery introduced at the same time.
Picture ref C4505 |
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 Sister vehicle 5464 (SN15LPP) is seen arriving in the Hertfordshire County Showground for SHOWBUS 2021.
Picture ref 21-5765 |
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 Earlier we saw 280 branded 5466 on the X60 from Aylesbury to Milton Keynes via Buckingham, here is 5468 (SN15LPY) on the 150 in Leighton Buzzard in June 2022 on the alternative Arriva route which takes about five minutes less than the long winded Buckingham route!.
Picture ref D784 |
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SHOWBUS 2021 entrant 5464 was seen the same day in Aylesbury having just set off for Oxford.
Picture ref D789 |
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 For SHOWBUS 5O in 2022 at the Hertfordshire County Showground a smart 5469 (SN15LPZ) flew the 280 flag and was displayed with a selection of active and preserved Arriva buses.
Picture ref 22-5362 |
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 Earlier in June 5466, seen above on the 150, was again playing hookey from the 280 and doing a round on town service 9.
Picture ref D790 |
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 This could have been a scene from to 2020 SHOWBUSflyby where several buses were photographed by the attractive Thame Town Hall, however 5467 (SN15LPX) was seen there, Aylesbury bound, in August 2023.
Picture ref P5023 |
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 A second Shires Enviro400 was displayed at SHOWBUS 5O, driver training unit T62 (LJ08CXS), still carrying its fleet number from its early days in the servce fleet of Arriva London.
Picture ref 22-5151 |
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 In something of a final fling for the Wycombe depot of Arriva, a number of relatively smart, i.e. recently repainted, buses was allocated to the depot, a mixture of Optare Versas and doubledeck Enviros, the latter intended for the 800/850 services to Reading, the reality being that they more often found themselves pootling around Wycombe, so this September 2023 shot of 5459 Reading bound - not that the electronic blind affords that sight - was lucky. It is just about to climb Desborough Avenue to Handy Cross and then over the M40 to Marlow and beyond affording great doubledeck views along the Thames Valley. The bus was new as a Sapphire 280 and is seen above, when new, arriving at the Imperial War Musem for the last Duxford SHOWBUS.
Picture ref P5164  |
 Stopping at Wooburn Green on route to Wycombe in May 2024 was 5460 (YY14WFU).
Picture ref P7185 |
 This view of 5459 better displays the Arriva recruitment advert on the offside. Ironically the Wycombe depot was due to close the following month coinciding with the start of the school holidays in July 2024.
Picture ref P7462 |
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