There are hundreds of Arriva buses on our roads every single day - but where do they get their numbers from?

Whether it's the 86A taking you to the airport or the 699 ferrying students into town, we all recognise where different numbers will take us.

The numbers on our buses in Liverpool are probably one of those things you might mindlessly ponder while waiting at a bus stop, mean to Google, then forget by the time you've got your ticket.

We asked Arriva if they could answer the age old question of how buses across Merseyside their numbers, and what they all mean.

As it turns out, there's "no exact science" to the numbering of Merseyside buses - but there is a system that decides how it all works.

A spokeswoman for Arriva told the ECHO that historically, but numbers would go by the area they go through or start off from.


The numbers at the start of each bus number relate to the area, with the likes of the 80, 82 and 86 all coming from Green Lane.

Arriva explained how Merseyside's buses got their numbers

Arriva's spokeswoman told the ECHO : "So 4 is Southport area, 5 is St Helens . If it starts in 1 it's city centre. X means express service and numbers like 82A just mean it's a slight variation on the 82 route.

"The 8s come from Green Lane, so they cover Old Swan , Tuebrook. The 7s are Green Lane too."

She added: "30s are St Helens, 40s are Southport, 50s are Bootle , 60s are across town, 70s are Halewood and Netherley, 80s are Speke. So it corresponds to the depots and the areas they serve."


While most buses fall into one of these number groups, there are some unusual outliers - like the 699 for university students.

Arriva's spokeswoman said: "The 699 is called the 699 because it's a university bus so it's a different type of service. It's just to differentiate it from other buses from that depot. All school buses begin with a 6."

Once all the numbers are dealt with, there's the matter of letters, which are added on to the end of some services.

The different letters all have their own meanings, whether it's a variation on a route, the street it goes to in town, or to show passengers that it's on the way back to the garage.

Arriva's spokeswoman told the ECHO : "A means airport - but the 10A is just a slight variation of the 10 route. The majority of it will be the same route, but one part will be a bit different. Any B service is that as well.

"D means Dale Street, C means Charlotte Street and E means it's running back to the garage."

While the numbers offer some order to the bus network, signalling where buses start off or the areas they go through, there's no particular reason that each area is given a particular number.

The spokeswoman from Arriva who explained all the numbers said: "The numbers aren't assigned to areas for any reason - we just never had one. If we put on a new route and that number is free we will use it.

"There's no science to it."