Scottish Bus Group
Encyclopedia
Sovereign state
A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...
-owned Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
holding company that included a number of bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
operators covering the whole of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The group was formed in 1961 as Scottish Omnibuses Group (Holdings) Ltd, to take control of the British Transport Commission
British Transport Commission
The British Transport Commission was created by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government as a part of its nationalisation programme, to oversee railways, canals and road freight transport in Great Britain...
's bus operating subsidiaries in Scotland. In 1962 the group became part of the Transport Holding Company
Transport Holding Company
The Transport Holding Company was a British Government owned company created by the Transport Act 1962 to administer a range of state-owned transport, travel and engineering companies that were previously managed by the British Transport Commission ; it came into existence on 1 January...
when the British Transport Commission
British Transport Commission
The British Transport Commission was created by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government as a part of its nationalisation programme, to oversee railways, canals and road freight transport in Great Britain...
was wound up. The group was renamed Scottish Bus Group in 1963 and became part of the Scottish Transport Group on 1 January 1969, together with David MacBrayne Ltd.
Member companies
- Central SMT Company Ltd
- Highland Omnibuses Ltd
- Scottish Motor Traction Company LtdScottish Motor TractionScottish Motor Traction was founded in Edinburgh in 1905. It operated buses in much of central Scotland. Aside from its traditional bus operations, it operated an air taxi service with a De Havilland Fox Moth between July 18 and October 31, 1932 and for many years owned Dryburgh Abbey Hotel...
- Walter Alexander & Sons (Fife) Ltd
- Walter Alexander & Sons (Midland) Ltd
- Walter Alexander & Sons (Northern) Ltd
- Western SMTWestern SMTWestern Scottish Motor Traction Co. Limited was a bus operator in south-west Scotland from 1929 to 1985.The company was formed in 1929 by the renaming of Scottish General Transport Co. Ltd, after the British Electric Traction subsidiary formed in 1913 was acquired by the Scottish Motor Traction...
Company Ltd
After reorganisation in 1985:
- Central ScottishCentral ScottishCentral Scottish Omnibuses Ltd was a bus operating subsidiary of the Scottish Transport Group formed in June 1985 from Central SMT Company Ltd, and operated until July 1989 when it was merged with Kelvin Scottish to form Kelvin Central Buses.- Operation :...
Omnibuses Ltd - Clydeside ScottishClydeside ScottishClydeside Scottish Omnibuses Ltd, in Scotland, was a bus operating subsidiary of the Scottish Transport Group formed in June 1985 from Western SMT Company Ltd...
Omnibuses Ltd - Eastern ScottishEastern ScottishEastern Scottish, of Edinburgh, Scotland, was a bus and coach operator and a subsidiary of the Scottish Bus Group . Eastern Scottish Omnibuses Ltd. was formed in June 1985 from the main part of Scottish Omnibuses Ltd., which had itself traded as 'Eastern Scottish' since the 1960s...
Omnibuses Ltd - Fife ScottishFife ScottishFife Scottish Omnibuses Ltd, in Scotland, was formed as a bus operating subsidiary of the Scottish Transport Group formed in June 1985 from Walter Alexander & Sons Ltd and is now part of the Stagecoach Group, trading as Stageoach in Fife.- History :...
Omnibuses Ltd - Highland ScottishHighland ScottishHighland Scottish Omnibuses Ltd was formed as a bus operating subsidiary of the Scottish Transport Group in June 1985 from Highland Omnibuses Ltd, and operated until October 1995 when the company was split into two - Highland Bus & Coach and Highland Country Buses...
Omnibuses Ltd - Kelvin ScottishKelvin ScottishKelvin Scottish Omnibuses Ltd was a bus operating subsidiary of the Scottish Transport Group based in Bishopbriggs, Strathclyde, Scotland. It was formed in March 1985 from parts of Walter Alexander & Sons Ltd and Central SMT, initially with six depots and a varied fleet of 381 vehicles.The company...
Omnibuses Ltd - Lowland ScottishLowland ScottishLowland Scottish Omnibuses Ltd was a bus operator in south eastern Scotland and parts of northern England. The company was formed in 1985 and operated under the identities Lowland Scottish, Lowland and First Lowland / First SMT, until 1999 when the company's operations were combined with the...
Omnibuses Ltd - Midland ScottishMidland ScottishMidland Scottish Omnibuses Ltd, in Scotland, was a bus operating subsidiary of the Scottish Transport Group formed in June 1985 from Walter Alexander and Sons Ltd, and operated until 1991 when it became Midland Bluebird Ltd.- Operation :...
Omnibuses Ltd - Northern ScottishNorthern ScottishNorthern Scottish Omnibuses Ltd, in Scotland, was a bus operating subsidiary of the Scottish Transport Group formed in June 1985 from Walter Alexander & Sons Ltd and operated until 1992, when it became Bluebird Buses Ltd...
Omnibuses Ltd - Scottish CitylinkScottish CitylinkScottish Citylink Coaches Ltd is a long distance express coach operator in Scotland and the Republic of Ireland . The company was formed as a subsidiary of Scottish Transport Group in June 1985...
Coaches Ltd - Scottish Bus Group Engineering Ltd
- Strathtay ScottishStrathtay ScottishStagecoach Strathtay is a Scottish bus operating company which covers the Dundee and Angus areas, and parts of Grampian. It is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group, which bought Strathtay Scottish Omnibuses Ltd from Traction Group in 2005...
Omnibuses Ltd - Western ScottishWestern ScottishWestern Scottish Omnibuses Ltd, in Scotland, was a bus operating subsidiary of the Scottish Transport Group formed in June 1985 from Western SMT Company Ltd and operated until 1997, when it became Western Buses Ltd...
Omnibuses Ltd
All of the operating companies were privatised in the early 1990s, with Central Scottish
Central Scottish
Central Scottish Omnibuses Ltd was a bus operating subsidiary of the Scottish Transport Group formed in June 1985 from Central SMT Company Ltd, and operated until July 1989 when it was merged with Kelvin Scottish to form Kelvin Central Buses.- Operation :...
and Kelvin Scottish
Kelvin Scottish
Kelvin Scottish Omnibuses Ltd was a bus operating subsidiary of the Scottish Transport Group based in Bishopbriggs, Strathclyde, Scotland. It was formed in March 1985 from parts of Walter Alexander & Sons Ltd and Central SMT, initially with six depots and a varied fleet of 381 vehicles.The company...
being merged as Kelvin Central Buses
Kelvin Central Buses
Kelvin Central Buses Ltd was a bus operating subsidiary of the Scottish Bus Group formed in July 1989 from the merger of Kelvin Scottish and Central Scottish in preparation for privatisation, and operated until July 1998 when it became First Glasgow Ltd....
. Though Clydeside Scottish
Clydeside Scottish
Clydeside Scottish Omnibuses Ltd, in Scotland, was a bus operating subsidiary of the Scottish Transport Group formed in June 1985 from Western SMT Company Ltd...
was remerged into Western Scottish
Western Scottish
Western Scottish Omnibuses Ltd, in Scotland, was a bus operating subsidiary of the Scottish Transport Group formed in June 1985 from Western SMT Company Ltd and operated until 1997, when it became Western Buses Ltd...
so as to provide a healthier prospect for potential buyers, both companies ended up being sold as separate entities.
The holding company, Scottish Bus Group Ltd, was dissolved in 2002.