Kickstart for bus services in Cheshire

• Photocall: Gwyneth Dunwoody MP, Mr Neville Price, Chairman,Cheshire County Council and Mr Tom Balshaw, operations director forArriva North West and Wales, to launch 12 brand new buses forCheshire.
• Meet : 12.45pm at Brewers Fayre, London Road, Leftwich, nearNorthwich.

A brand new fleet of buses has been unveiled by Gwyneth DunwoodyMP, as part of a drive to provide better public transport links andincrease bus use in Cheshire.

The 12 new buses will be operated by Arriva, who in partnershipwith Cheshire County Council, have received government Kickstartfunding of almost £1 million towards the project. Furthercontributions from Arriva and the local authority have resulted inan investment of over £3 million.

The new vehicles will be used on services between Northwich,Winsford, Leighton Hospital and Crewe.

All the buses are low floor vehicles, meaning easier boardingfor senior citizens, wheelchair users and mums with pushchairs.CCTV cameras have also been fitted to ensure customer safety.

They have the new Plaxton Centro Body on a VDL SB 120chassis.

Tom Balshaw, operations director for Arriva North West andWales, said:

Earlier this year, Cheshire County Council and Arrivacarried out a route and branch review of bus services in Cheshire.We made a number of improvements, such as the increased service toLeighton Hospital, and this has now been complemented by the newbuses.

It's a real boost for Arriva to have the support of thegovernment and Cheshire County Council as we continue to enhanceour network in the region.

Cheshire County Council Chairman Neville Price said:

This was the second largest amount awarded for theKickstart project in the country and was supported by borough andparish councils.

Over the next three years it will greatly enhance bustravel between Northwich, Winsford and Crewe, as we aim to attractmore people out of the car and onto public transport.

As part of the partnership, the County Council willalso be upgrading bus stops along the route to provide a highquality waiting environment.

• Arriva is one of the largest private sector providers ofpassenger transport in mainland Europe, employing nearly 33,000people and providing more than one billion passenger journeys everyyear.
• Arriva provides transport services including buses, trains,commuter coaches and water buses, and operates in eight Europeancountries: Denmark, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal,Spain, Sweden and the UK.
• Arriva is the largest private bus operator in Italy, Denmarkand the Netherlands and is London's largest bus operator.
• Revenue from Arriva's mainland European operations has doubledin the past three years to £621.2 million.
• Arriva was the first UK transport company to become a signatoryofthe European Road Safety Charter.