Arriva Group appoints new Managing Director for UK Bus

Arriva Group has today announced the appointment of Martijn Gilbert as its new Managing Director for its Arriva UK Bus business unit, reporting to the Executive Chair, David Martin. 

Martijn has an extensive background in UK passenger transport having held roles at Go-Ahead Group’s regional bus operator, Go North East and East Yorkshire, where he was Managing Director between 2018 and 2022 and most recently, at FirstGroup, where he has been Managing Director since 2022 for the group’s Open Access rail operators Lumo and Hull Trains and for Transport for London contracted businesses under the Croydon Tramlink system and the First London Cableway.

David Martin, Arriva Group Executive Chair, said: "Martijn brings a wealth of industry experience with him to Arriva and we’re delighted that he’s joining the company at this important stage in our growth journey.  With his exceptionally strong commercial and strategic experience, he will help our business transition to electric vehicles, while delivering customer service excellence, growth, and innovation, working alongside passenger transport authorities in London and throughout the UK."

Martijn Gilbert said: “I’m delighted to be joining Arriva at such an exciting stage and with the changing dynamics of the UK bus sector.  I want to build on already strong partnerships with passenger transport authorities and focus on delivering great services for passengers through innovative solutions that harness best practice from across Arriva’s pan European operations”.

Martijn’s appointment is effective from 18 August 2025.

In addition to his roles at First Group and Go North East, Martijn was Chief Executive of council owned Reading Buses and spent some of his early career working at Arriva.

-end-

About Arriva Group:

Arriva is a leading provider of passenger transport across Europe, employing around 36,200 people and delivering around 1.5 billion passenger journeys. With buses, trains, coaches, trams, waterbuses, bike-sharing systems, on-demand transport solutions and a rolling stock leasing company, Arriva proudly connects people and communities safely, reliably and sustainably across 11 countries, delivering these services in a better way, every day. The activities of Arriva are divided into four business units: UK Bus, UK Trains, The Netherlands and Mainland Europe. Arriva has passenger transport operations in the Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and the United Kingdom, and also operates a rolling stock leasing company in Romania.