Arriva UK Bus wins competitive tender for North London route

Arriva’s London Bus business has successfully retained an important North London route (102/N102) following a competitive tender process, which sees Arriva securing a contract to run the service in partnership with Transport for London (TfL) for a further seven years from November 2026.

Running between Edmonton Green and Brent Cross, the route provides a vital orbital connection across the outer North London area, operating 24-hours a day and facilitating more than 6.2 million passenger journeys annually. The service will continue to run from Arriva’s Palmers Green garage, where it has been based continuously since 1947, and is supported by a dedicated team of 300 colleagues.

As part of the new contract, 26 zero-emission electric buses will be introduced, offering cleaner, quieter and more comfortable journeys for customers. The arrival of the new vehicles will mark an important step in the completion of the electrification of Arriva’s Palmers Green garage.

The investment in new fleet and depots forms part of Arriva’s £730m electrification programme in London. More than 290 Arriva zero-emission buses are now in service across the capital, following the introduction of 140 new electric vehicles over the past year alone. Arriva remains on track to exceed 500 electric buses in London by the end of 2026, supported by continued investment in depot infrastructure, with half of Arriva London’s 14 sites now serving zero-emission fleets.

As the business continues to grow and modernise its operations, Arriva regularly offers job opportunities for people to drive and maintain its modern fleet of buses across its network of London garages, with details of current vacancies available at https://arrivabusjobs.co.uk/

Mark Griffin, Area Director, Arriva UK Bus, London, said: “Retaining Route 102/N102 is a fantastic result and underlines the confidence placed in our teams to deliver reliable, high-quality services for Londoners. This route is a vital orbital link for North London, and we’re proud it will continue to be based at our Palmers Green garage, where it has operated for nearly 80 years.”

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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.