# Arriva Canonical: https://web4.xpay.bi/en/wiki/wp-en-171766/ Language: en Published: 2026-10-30T01:10:19.049Z Updated: 2026-10-30T01:10:19.049Z Arriva Ltd. is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England. ## Key facts ## Overview Arriva Ltd. is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England. The company was originally established on 24 October 1938 as T Cowie Ltd. Initially focused on the sale of motorcycles, it relaunched shortly after the Second World War by Tom Cowie. During December 1964, the company was floated, it acquired its first car dealership months later. In 1972, the company established Cowie Contract Hire, a successful contract hire business. T. Cowie entered into bus operations via the purchase of the London-based Grey-Green operator in 1980. During 1984, it acquired the Hanger Group along with the vehicle leasing business Interleasing. In April 1994, the company was renamed Cowie Group. Months later, Cowie Group acquired the Leaside Buses and South London Transport business units amid the wider privatisation of London bus services. During 1997, it also bought the Denmark-based operator Unibus, becoming its first venture based outside the United Kingdom. During November 1997, the company was rebranded as Arriva. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, it disposed of its vehicle-hire and motor-retailing businesses. In February 2000, Arriva purchased MTL Holdings, which included its first UK rail franchises, Merseyrail Electrics and Northern Spirit. In April 2008, the LNWR train maintenance business was acquired. Arriva became a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn in August 2010. Arriva operates bus, coach, train, tram and waterbus services in 10 countries across Europe. As of November 2023, it employed 35,500 people and operated 1.5 billion passenger journeys annually. It operates as three divisions: UK Bus, UK Rail and Mainland Europe. Deutsche Bahn announced in 2019 that it wished to sell Arriva, but such a sale was placed on hold as of November in that year. During the early 2020s, several of Arriva's continental European operations have been sold on. In October 2023, Deutsche Bahn agreed terms to sell Arriva to I Squared Capital with the transaction completed in June 2024. ## History The company was founded by TSK Cowie in Sunderland in 1938. It was initially active as a second-hand motorcycle dealer and traded under the name T. Cowie Limited. During 1948, the business was re-launched by Tom Cowie, the founder's son, still selling motorcycles. T Cowie plc was floated in December 1964, and in 1965 it bought out the first of many car dealerships. In 1972, it formed Cowie Contract Hire, which became the largest contract hire business in the UK. During 1980, T. Cowie made its first foray into bus operations, buying the Grey-Green operation in London from the George Ewer Group. In 1984, T. Cowie p.l.c. acquired the Hanger Group, which included Interleasing, a large vehicle leasing business. Further leasing companies acquired were Marley Leasing, RoyScot Drive and Ringway Leasing. Following the retirement of Tom Cowie, the company was renamed Cowie Group plc during April 1994. As part of the privatisation of London bus services, Cowie Group acquired the Leaside Buses and South London Transport business units in September 1994 and January 1995 respectively. Cowie Group also bought United Automobile Services and British Bus in July and August 1996, both of which had acquired a number of privatised bus companies. As a result of these transactions, in October 1996, Cowie Group was reclassified on the stock exchange from a motor dealer to a transport group. In November 1997, the company was rebranded as Arriva p.lc. That same year, it also bought Unibus in Denmark, its first venture outside the United Kingdom. During June 1999, Arriva sold its vehicle-hire business to General Motors. In February 2000, Arriva purchased MTL Holdings, which included its first UK rail franchises, Merseyrail Electrics and Northern Spirit. Between 2002 and 2003, Arriva sold its motor-retailing businesses, furthermore, in February 2006, it also disposed of its vehicle-rental business to Northgate. During April 2008, the LNWR train maintenance business in England was acquired. In 2010, it was reported that the government-owned railway companies of France (SNCF) and Germany (Deutsche Bahn) were considering making takeover bids for the business. SNCF subsidiary Keolis and Arriva entered discussions regarding a merger, however, in April 2010, Deutsche Bahn made a takeover offer for Arriva valued at £7.75 per share (£1.585 billion). During August 2010, Deutsche Bahn's takeover bid was approved by the European Commission, albeit conditional on the disposal of some Arriva services in Germany. The takeover took effect on 27 August 2010, and Arriva was delisted from the London Stock Exchange on 31 August 2010. In late 2011, Arriva acquired Grand Central and sold its Arriva Scotland West bus operation. In May 2013, Arriva purchased Veolia Transport's Central European business with 3,400 vehicles. Arriva changed its logo in January 2018. In March 2019, DB announced that it would be selling Arriva through either a sale or possible public flotation and invited companies interested in acquiring it to register expressions of interest by 3 May; however, by mid-November, the sale had been reportedly placed on hold. In early 2023, reports again alleged that parent company Deutsche Bahn was considering options for spinning out Arriva to concentrate on its core German rail operations. During the following months, various portions of Arriva's operations in continental Europe were sold to other companies, these disposals have largely focused on bus operations. In October 2023, Deutsche Bahn agreed terms to sell Arriva to I Squared Capital. The sale was completed in June 2024. ## Bus In May 2013, Arriva entered the Croatian bus market with the purchase of Panturist Veolia Osijek (Veolia Transport Central Europe) with 120 buses. In August 2017 Arriva took a 78.34% share in Autotrans Group (ATG); via this move, it became the number one private bus operator active in Croatia. ## Czech Republic Arriva group bought three medium-sized bus transport companies (Transcentrum Bus s.r.o., Bosák Bus s.r.o. and Osnado s.r.o.) in 2006 and 2007 end established its own rail transport company Arriva vlaky s.r.o. in 2009. These four companies are owned through Arriva holding Česká republika s.r.o. which is owned by the Dutch company Arriva Coöperatie W.A. (majority of 99.9% since 2008). In July 2013, the current Veolia Transport Česká republika a.s. with its four subsidiary companies fell under Arriva group as Arriva Transport Česká republika a.s. The daughter companies were simultaneously renamed and rebranded as Arriva Praha s.r.o., Arriva Teplice s.r.o., Arriva Vychodni Cechy a.s. and Arriva Morava a.s. They operate primarily buses (it is the biggest bus transport operator in the Czech Republic) but also trolleybuses in Teplice (Arriva Teplice) and Desná Railway (Arriva Morava). The two Arriva holdings in the Czech Republic have not any direct interconnection yet. Moreover, the Arriva group operated in the Czech Republic also through the German rail transport company Vogtlandbahn GmbH. The former Abellio companies Probo Bus and PT Real, purchased in December 2013, are owned by DB Czech Holding s.r.o. which is owned by German DB Mobility Logistics AG. ## Bus and coach In December 2006, Arriva purchased Transcentrum Bus, operating services in Mladá Boleslav District of the Central Bohemian Region, north east of Prague. In January 2007, Arriva acquired Bosák Bus, which operates to the south west of Prague and the Příbram District of the Central Bohemian Region. In November 2007, Arriva acquired Osnado, which operates bus and coach services in the north of Hradec Králové Region in East Bohemia, in the foothills of the Giant Mountains. The three bus companies retain their original names but with the Arriva corporate logo and livery. At the turn of 2014/2015, Bosák Bus s.r.o. was merged with Transcentrum Bus s.r.o. and Transcentrum Bus s.r.o. renamed to Arriva Střední Čechy s.r.o. In July 2013, \[Veolia Transport\] Česká republika a.s. was purchased with its four subsidiary companies which were renamed Arriva Morava, Arriva Praha, Arriva Teplice and Arriva Východní Čechy. These four companies are owned by holding company Arriva Transport Česká republika. It also operates trolleybuses in Teplice (Arriva Teplice) and trains in Desná Railway (Arriva Morava). During December 2013, Abellio's Probo Bus and PT Real operations were purchased with 110 buses. As at November 2016, Arriva operated 1,960 buses in the Czech Republic. ## Train German rail transport company Vogtlandbahn, owned by Arriva since 2004, operated several train routes in the Czech Republic as a subcontractor of České dráhy (München – Regensburg – Hof – Plzeň – Praha, line VB2 Zwickau – Plauen – Bad Brambach – Františkovy Lázně – Cheb – Mariánské Lázně, line VB8 Marktredwitz – Schirnding – Cheb) and GW Train Regio, formerly Viamont (line VB1 Zwickau – Klingenthal – Kraslice – Sokolov). Since December 2010, Vogtlandbahn operates under its own name the line Trilex (Liberec – Zittau – Varnsdorf – Rybniště/Seifhennersdorf). After Arriva was bought by Deutsche Bahn in 2010, Vogtlandbahn was resold to the Italian state railways Ferrovie dello Stato together with Luxembourg infrastructure fund Cube. Between September 2013 and December 2013, Arriva vlaky tried operating a commercial service from Praha Masarykovo nádraží to Kralupy nad Vltavou in competition with subsidised lines of České dráhy. The company did not succeed with its effort to gain a subsidy for it to continue. Four trains on the local Desná Railway, operated by Connex Morava (lately Veolia Transport Morava) since 2002, were taken over by Arriva Morava in July 2013. In March 2016, Arriva introduced a weekly service from Praha to Trenčín in Slovakia and daily service from Praha to Benešov. It has applied to increase this to twice daily from December 2016. ## Bus In April 2008, Arriva purchased an 80% shareholding in Eurobus Invest, Hungary's largest private bus operator, which operates services in Hungary and Slovakia. In 2009, Arriva purchased the remaining 20%. Arriva is in a joint venture with Videoton Holding operating as VT Transman. During May 2013, VT Transman began operating two bus contracts in Budapest for eight years; this arrangement saw 150 Mercedes-Benz Citaros added to the company's 225-strong bus fleet. The joint venture now operates under the VT-Arriva brand. ## Bus and coach In July 2002, Arriva purchased SAB Autoservizi and SAF – Società Autoservizi Friuli-Venezia Giulia operating in Lombardy, Liguria and Friuli-Venezia Giulia regions of northern Italy. During May 2004, Arriva expanded into the Udine area of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region via the purchase of 49% of 500 bus SAF; it exercised an option in December 2005 to increase its stake to 60%. In October 2005, Arriva began operating in the Piemonte and Valle d'Aosta regions of northern Italy with an 80% shareholding in SADEM, increased to 100% in 2008. During 2006, Arriva purchased a 35% share in Trieste Trasporti, which increased to 40% in 2007. In June 2007, Arriva entered a joint venture with Ferrovie Nord Milano to purchase 49% of 317 bus SPT Linea, which was then renamed ASF Autolinee. This company manages local public transport in the city of Como. During 2008, it took control of Brescia-based SAIA Transporti. In April 2026, Arriva acquired an 80% majority share of La Linea Spa, a major private operator for the Veneto Region ## Bus and coach In January 1998, Arriva purchased Vancom Nederland, it was followed by Veonn & Hanze in December 1998. During June 1999, it formed a joint venture with Nederlandse Spoorwegen to operate bus services in Friesland; four years later, Arriva took full ownership, after which it was renamed Arriva Openbaar Vervoer. In 2003, Arriva won further work in Drenthe and Province of Groningen. It was awarded further contracts in 2005 in Drenthe and Waterland and later in the Drechtsteden, Alblasserwaard, Rivierenland, Meierij, Oost-Brabant, and Vijfheerenlanden areas. During 2009, Arriva lost the contracts in Drenthe and Groningen upon retendering yet, in 2010, won a contract in Achterhoek and retained the Rivierenland contract. From December 2012, Arriva won the contract for South Holland North, around Leiden, Alphen aan den Rijn and Gouda and in Friesland around Leeuwarden. During December 2016, it acquired most of Limburg's bus and train systems. ## Train During 1999, Arriva established NoordNed as a joint venture company with the Dutch state-owned passenger rail company Nederlandse Spoorwegen. In 2003, the company took full ownership of the former joint venture, opting to drop the NoordNed branding two years later. During 2005, Arriva was awarded a 15-year contract to operate trains from Groningen to Leeuwarden, Delfzijl, Roodeschool and Nieuweschans. It also secured a contract to operate trains from Leeuwarden to Harlingen Haven and to Stavoren. Later that year, it secured a contract to operate trains from Dordrecht to Gorinchem and on to Geldermalsen (MerwedeLingelijn). In 2012, Arriva commenced operating trains in the Achterhoek and between Zwolle and Emmen; these services operate under the Spurt brand. On 21 June 2013, Arriva was selected to operate a new service between The Hague and Brussels. Service was set to start in December 2015, but the project was cancelled in 2014 because the involved parties could not agree upon a final business case and because NS reactivated the original service to Brussels, which made the new Arriva service unnecessary. During December 2016, Arriva acquired the majority of Limburg's bus and train systems. In June 2024, a train of Arriva has been extended from Maastricht to Liège-Guillemins in cooperation with the National Railway Company of Belgium to replace the existing service there. The resulting Three Countries Train runs from Liège-Guillemins to Aachen Hbf. ## Bus and train combination The Province of Limburg awarded a contract in June 2015 to Arriva to provide for the entire public transport (buses and five regional rail lines) in Limburg from December 2016 up until 2031. Abellio has originally been named the preferred bidder, but after it was discovered Abellio had gained some information that was not available to the other bidders, the contract was withdrawn. Another tenderer, Veolia, announced they will object to the decision of the province. ## Bus During May 2013, Arriva entered the Polish bus market through its acquisition of Veolia Transport Central Europe along with its 840 buses. However, during the summer of 2023, the company divested its bus activities in Polish market. ## Sources - Arriva · Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/?curid=171766 Source: Wikipedia contributors — https://en.wikipedia.org/?curid=171766&oldid=1380184197 Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ Adaptation notice: Reformatted for XPay; the source may be abridged, restructured or translated. Consult the cited revision for the original.