I know someone who works at Arriva, in Sunderland, and they have told me that the new brand was forced upon every region, not by marketing, but the corporate communications team.

Central and local marketing then bear responsibility for it's implementation, but if the actual operating company are not bought in whatsoever, what did Arriva (as a UK wide umberalla) expect?

Internally, it was rejected, hence the lack of urgency to repaint/rebrand.