Arriva places an order for 187 electric buses in Netherlands

Arriva has confirmed a large electric bus order in The Netherlands with 187 vehicles on order to serve the new West-Brabant contract which comes into effect in July 2025.

The new fleet will operate throughout the region, following a competitive tender which Arriva won in January this year.  The company already serves the region, but the new contract will see significant improvements for passengers from next year.

All new buses entering service will carry the livery for the Brabant region.  Buses will be equipped with an automated external defibrillator (AED), a camera monitoring system (instead of traditional mirrors) for a clear surround view. Drivers will have a personally programmed temperature-controlled seat. The vehicles will also be climate control inside for passenger comfort and equipped with an adjustable wheelchair ramp, on-board Wifi and USB ports.  The buses will have IsoFix installed (a standardised system for securely attaching child seats).

Arriva won the new contract to continue serving the West Brabant region earlier this year.  A key part of the successful bid was the plan to future-proof the network with faster and smarter transport options including investment in the new electric fleet.  The contract will run for ten years from July 2025 and is worth around €900 million over the contract term.

Anne Hettinga, Managing Director of Arriva Netherlands and member of the Arriva Management Board, commented: “With this order of electric buses, we are delivering on our promises and building on our high levels of service and our track record of sustainable transport solutions.  We look forward to working with the local passenger transport authorities to grow public transport in the region”.

The fleet order is an important part of Arriva Netherland’s longer-term strategy to eliminate CO2 emissions.  The company has stated that from 2027, it’s aiming for 90 per cent less CO2 emitted from transport operations in the Netherlands compared to 2019. 

In the Netherlands, passengers have access to Arriva’s MaaS (Mobility as a Service) offering under its “glimble by Arriva” brand.  West Brabant is completely served by “glimble” which connects travellers throughout the Netherlands with all modes of transport across all operating companies, allowing them to research book and pay for multi-modal interconnected travel.  Glimble has gained more than 400,000 users since it was introduced in the Netherlands in 2021 and has recently launched in Trieste, Italy.  Arriva continues to explore its potential expansion within Italy and other parts of Europe.

About Arriva Group:

Arriva is a leading provider of passenger transport across Europe, employing around 34,400 people and delivering around 1.6 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.