Arriva buses announce Sapphire premium service to come to Stockton on Tees , Cleveland and North Yorkshire

Arrive announces investment in 23 Sapphires

Local bus company Arriva North East has announced that its new Premium bus service, Sapphire, is heading for Teesside, East Cleveland and North Yorkshire this summer.

The new state-of-the-art buses will provide an exciting new customer experience for bus passengers. The service will include; free on board WIFI, electric charging points for phones, iPads and laptops, audio-visual stop announcements and luxury seats with extra leg room. The new buses, driven by a dedicated group of Sapphire drivers, will start arriving this August and will all be out in service by the end of the summer.
The new Sapphire buses represent a £4 million investment by the company and will operate on the 5/5a serving Middlesbrough, Guisborough and Loftus and the X3/X4 serving Middlesbrough, Redcar, Loftus and Whitby

Nick Knox, area managing director for Arriva North East, said: “We’re delighted to be introducing Sapphire on these routes, we have listened to our customers and we’re confident that they will be really pleased with the new, enhanced journey experience. We know that by investing in the local communities in which we operate not only encourages more people to join us on board, but also helps improve the local economy by ensuring good quality transport links for both business and leisure.”

Sapphire customers are also able to download the Arriva journey planner APP which makes bus travel easier for all, the new technology can track buses in real time meaning waiting at the bus stop will soon be a thing of the past; allowing customers to spend an extra few minutes finishing their breakfast or hitting a few more shops before heading for their bus.