Martijn Gilbert will return to the bus industry as Managing Director of Arriva UK Bus when he takes up that role on 18 August.
Mr Gilbert was latterly FirstGroup, where from September 2022 until recently he led its open access rail operations and Transport for London contracts for Croydon Tramlink and the First London Cableway.
Prior to that he was Managing Director of Go North East and East Yorkshire, and CEO of Reading Buses. His career also includes a prior spell with Arriva before joining Reading Buses.
As Arriva UK Bus MD, Mr Gilbert will also join the group’s Executive Committee. He will report to Executive Chair David Martin. Commenting on the appointment of Mr Gilbert, Mr Martin says: “Martijn brings a wealth of industry experience with him to Arriva and we are delighted that he is joining the company at this important stage in our growth journey.
“With his exceptionally strong commercial and strategic experience, he will help our business transition to electric vehicles while delivering customer service excellence, growth and innovation, working alongside passenger transport authorities in London and throughout the UK.”
Adds Mr Gilbert: “I am delighted to be joining Arriva at such an exciting stage and with the changing dynamics of the UK bus sector.
“I want to build on already strong partnerships with passenger transport authorities and focus on delivering great services for passengers through innovative solutions that harness best practice from across Arriva’s pan-European operations.”
Arriva’s most recent annual report notes that the UK Bus arm employs 13,100 people and has a fleet of almost 3,900 buses, with revenue of €639 million.
