16,324 views
In 2003 Arriva took over the transport of Connexxion in the DAV (Drechtsteden-Alblasserwaard-Vijheerenlanden) area. Because the permit was granted at a late stage, the newly ordered buses were not yet present at the start on 1-1-2003. That is why a colourful fleet of old buses was used in the first few months, including many DAF MB200s. Some of these buses came from the company's own reserve fleet. In addition to standard regional buses, these included old blue city buses from Leeuwarden and red city buses from Groningen. The two ex Noordwesthoek buses with a ZABO body were also a remarkable sight. Various old city and regional buses were obtained via traders as a supplement. All this material was put into service in the original company colours. These buses were given 'new' Arriva numbers. The old numbers were covered with red tape. The only new buses were 18 Mercedes Citaro buses, which had been in service in South Holland for a few months before they were put into service as city buses in Groningen. Among the standard regional buses were two manual transmission models. The manual 0031 (ex Midnet 9240) was still lent out to drive a final ride in a completely Central Netherlands livery for a driver who was retiring. The 9313 that once started at the DVM was still in the original regional bus colours with a grey underside. In the summer of 2003, all the new Wright buses were delivered and a turbulent period came to an end.