Arriva North West - Manchester Depot

  19/06/20   |     James Richford

This archive fleet list shows the final allocation of Manchester depot, which closed in March 2012.

Located at St Andrew's Square, a stone's throw from the city's Piccadilly station, Manchester depot's final fleet was an interesting mix of old and new. The newer order comprised ten Alexander Dennis Enviro300s which were purchased in 2008 for the 263 Manchester to Altrincham route; these were bolstered by four Wright Pulsar 2s in October 2009, the last new buses to be delivered to Manchester depot. Representing the older single decker fleet were fourteen Plaxton Pointer-bodied Dennis Darts and six Wright Crusader-bodied Volvo B6BLEs. These plied their trade mainly on the 130 Manchester to Macclesfield route and Manchester to Sale services such as the 16, 19 and 99.

Oddities in the fleet included five DAF SB220s: a coach-seated Plaxton Prestige and four with Ikarus Polaris bodywork; these were acquired with Arriva's purchase of Blue Bus, Bolton in 2005 and were mostly confined to the 10 Manchester to Brookhouse service. Rounding off Manchester's final allocation were eleven Optare Solos, almost exclusively used on tendered services from Shudehill Bus Station, and nine ex-London DAF DB250s which were used on school work as well as the 10 and 16 routes.

Upon closure in March 2012, Manchester's routes and buses were passed mainly to Wythenshawe and Bolton depots. By 2020, Arriva's presence in Greater Manchester has receded still further despite it owning two garages in the region.