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. This successor company is now a part of Stagecoach West Scotland. Motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within Europe Scotlands location within the United Kingdom Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ... Scottish Bus Group logo, as displayed on vehicles, timetables and such, as a suffix to the local fleetname (e. ... This article is about the year. ... Western Scottish Motor Traction Co. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Stagecoach West Scotland is an operating region of Stagecoach UK Bus, comprising of Western Buses Ltd and Stagecoach Glasgow Ltd, based in Ayr, Scotland. ...

Operation

From its head office in Nursery Avenue, Kilmarnock, Western Scottish covered an operating area bounded by Ardrossan in the north, Glasgow to the east, the Firth of Clyde to the west and Carlisle to the south. View from Kilmarnock train station onto John Finnie Street. ... Ardrossan is a town located on the North Ayrshire coast in western Scotland. ... Compass rose with north highlighted and at top North is one of the four cardinal directions, specifically the direction that, in Western culture, is treated as the primary direction: north is used (explicitly or implicitly) to define all other directions; the (visual) top edges of maps usually correspond to the... For other uses, see Glasgow (disambiguation). ... The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST, internally called HT-7U) is a project being undertaken to construct an experimental superconducting tokamak magnetic fusion energy reactor in Hefei, the capital city of Anhui Province, in eastern China. ... Map of the Firth of Clyde and area The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water, sheltered from the Atlantic ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire, Scotland. ... A compass rose with west highlighted This article refers to the cardinal direction; for other uses see West (disambiguation). ... Carlisle is a city in the extreme northwest of England, some 16 km from the border with Scotland. ... A compass rose with South highlighted South is most commonly a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. ...

Western was the largest operator in south west Scotland and was responsible for local bus services in the towns of Kilmarnock, Ayr, Cumnock, Girvan, Stranraer and Dumfries as well as rural services, interurban connections and cross-border journeys into north west England. Depots were located in those towns, as well as Annan, Ardrossan, Carlisle (shared with Cumberland Motor Services) and Whithorn. Vehicles were also 'outstationed' at Kirkcudbright, Lockerbie, Penpont and Sanquhar. The company would eventually establish a base in Brodick, Isle of Arran also. The Royal Burgh of Ayr (Scottish Gaelic, Inbhir Àir) in the south-west of Scotland is a burgh situated on the Firth of Clyde. ... Cumnock is a burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland. ... Girvan is a burgh in South Ayrshire, Scotland, with a population of about 8000 people. ... Stranraer (An t-Sròn Reamhar in Gaelic) is a town in the south of Scotland in the west of the region of Dumfries and Galloway and was formerly in the county of Wigtownshire. ... The Buccleuch St Bridge Devorgilla Bridge (at Low water) Overlooking Dumfries The Old Bridge House Dumfries (pronounced dum-freece, not dum-fries) (Dùn Phris in Scottish Gaelic) is a Royal Burgh and town of about 35,000 people on the River Nith in Dumfries and Galloway in the south... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the United Kingdom (light green), with the Republic of Ireland (blue) to its west Languages English Capital London Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population –mid-2004... Location within the British Isles. ... Lockerbie (Gd: Logarbaidh) is a town located in the Dumfries and Galloway region of south-western Scotland. ... Penpont is a small village in the region of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, two miles west of Thornhill. ... Sanquhar is a town in the south of Scotland in Dumfries and Galloway, on the River Nith. ... Brodick (meaning Broad Bay, the name is derived from Norse roots) is the main village on the Isle of Arran, in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. ... Arran shown within Argyll The Isle of Arran (Scots Gaelic: Eilean Arainn) is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde (430 km2). ...

Western Scottish also provided coaches for Scottish Citylink work, mainly from the south west of Scotland to Glasgow, Edinburgh, London and the south. Scottish Citylink Coaches Ltd is a long distance express coach operator in Scotland and the Republic of Ireland (where it operates simply as Citylink.). The company was formed as a subsidiary of Scottish Transport Group in June 1985. ... Motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within Europe Scotlands location within the United Kingdom Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ... London is the capital city of England and of the United Kingdom, and is the most populous city in the European Union. ...

Though the northern portion of the former Western SMT's operating area, covering Inverclyde, Renfrewshire and the Isle of Bute, was ceded to a new company, Clydeside Scottish, in June 1985 in order to prepare the Scottish Bus Group for deregulation of the bus industry in 1986, and the eventual privatisation of the company, Clydeside Scottish was remerged with Western in May 1989. Depots at Largs, Greenock, Paisley, Johnstone, Inchinnan, Rothesay and Thornliebank on the south side of Glasgow were added on the merger of the two companies. Inverclyde (Inbhir Chluaidh in Gaelic) is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. ... Renfrewshire (Siorrachd Rinn Friù in Gaelic) is one of 32 unitary authority regions in Scotland. ... Bute shown within Argyll and Bute Bute is one of the islands of the lower Firth of Clyde in Scotland. ... Clydeside Scottish Omnibuses Ltd was a bus operating subsidiary of the Scottish Transport Group formed in June 1985 from Western SMT Company Ltd. ... Deregulation is the process by which governments remove restrictions on business in order to (in theory) encourage the efficient operation of markets. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Privatization (sometimes privatisation, denationalization, or — especially in India — disinvestment) is the process of transferring property, from public ownership to private ownership. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Largs (Grid reference NS203592) is a burgh on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about 33 miles (53 km) from Glasgow. ... Greenock (Grianaig in Scottish Gaelic) is a large burgh and a burgh of barony in the unitary authority region of Inverclyde in western Scotland, forming part of a continuous urban area with Gourock to the west and Port Glasgow to the east. ... Paisley (Pàislig in Scottish Gaelic) is a large town, and former royal burgh in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. ... For people named Johnstone, see Johnstone (surname) Johnstone (Baile Eòin in Scottish Gaelic) is a town in Renfrewshire, Scotland, three miles west of neighbouring Paisley. ... Inchinnan (Innis Fhionghain in Scottish Gaelic) is a small village in Renfrewshire, Scotland. ... The town of Rothesay is the principal town on the Isle of Bute, in the county of Bute, Scotland. ... Thornliebank is a small town in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, 7 miles south of Glasgow. ...

History

Though its predecessor company Western SMT had a much longer and more distinguished history, Western Scottish was a relatively short lived legal creation. The traditional, smart red and cream livery the vehicles wore gave way to a more bland black, white and two-tone grey scheme shortly after the company was created. This livery was short lived, however, and a black, white and red scheme took over within a couple of years. Due to the length of time taken to repaint the fleet, for a number of years vehicles appeared in three distinct liveries. Red is any of a number of similar colors at the lowest frequencies of light discernible by the human eye. ... Cream is the colour of the cream produced by cattle grazing on natural pasture with plants rich in yellow carotenoid pigments, some of which are incorporated into the cream, to give a slight yellow tone to the white. ... A livery is a uniform worn by a civilian person. ... Black is a colour with several subtle differences in meaning. ... Gray or grey is a color seen commonly in nature. ... fleet, see Fleet. ...

Western suffered from heavy competition after deregulation, particularly around Kilmarnock and Ayr, which, as the heavier populated areas of its operating area, provided the firm with the bulk of its income. Keenan of Ayr, Carrick Coaches, Shuttle Buses and various smaller operators appeared, challenging and weakening the dominant operator. Competition is the act of striving against another force for the purpose of achieving dominance or attaining a reward or goal, or out of a biological imperative such as survival. ...

In May 1989, Clydeside Scottish was remerged with Western, still under the legal name of Western Scottish Omnibuses Ltd. The aim of the merger was to strengthen the two weakened giants and thus make the company a more attractive proposition for potential buyers on the run up to privatisation. Clydeside Scottish had existed for less than five years, and Western's operating region now covered the same geographical area the former Western SMT did. Though the former Clydeside Scottish operation continued to trade simply as 'Clydeside', the vehicles were given the Western black, white and red livery.

During this time, however, extremely heavy and sustained competition from a multitude of smaller operators in Greenock and Paisley continued to financially weaken the company.

Western Scottish was purchased by its management and employee in June 1991 for £1m, with an immediate onward sale of the Clydeside operations and their depots to their management and employees as Clydeside 2000 plc (with Luton & District Buses taking a 24% stake), ending an extremely short lived and unhappy merger. The depot at Largs was closed, and Rothesay depot remained with Western Scottish. The Ardrossan depot closed shortly afterward. 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... ISO 4217 Code GBP User(s) United Kingdom Inflation rate 2. ...

The newly privatised Western Scottish was successful in securing all the tendered services on the Isle of Arran, putting the future of the small Brodick-based operator Arran Transport in jeopardy and drawing howls of protest and criticism from locals and the local media. However, Arran Transport managed to stay in business by competiting against the larger operator on its home island, and also the neighbouring Isle of Bute. In its home town of Kilmarnock, Western faced increasing levels of competition, most notably from Clyde Coast Coaches Ltd of Ardrossan, and retaliated by offering a free service between Saltcoats and Largs, Clyde Coast's traditional route. Privatization (sometimes privatisation, denationalization, or — especially in India — disinvestment) is the process of transferring property, from public ownership to private ownership. ... Saltcoats is a small town located on the west coast of Ayrshire, Scotland. ...

Stagecoach Holdings took over in July 1994 for £6m, and the 'bus war' with Clyde Coast was soon ended. Trading as Stagecoach Western Scottish, the company adopted the corporate Stagecoach white with red, blue and orange stripes and began expanding. Arran Transport was purchased in October 1994, followed by the much larger A1 Service operation in January 1995 - adding some 80 vehicles and operations in north Ayrshire from a new depot in Ardrossan. Stagecoach responded fiercely to the competition in Western's operating area, and was banned by the Traffic Commissioner from operating on the Ayr to Dalmellington route due to predatory and uncompetitive action against competitor Carrick Coaches. A Stagecoach West Scotland vehicle in the UK Bus corporate livery. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal. // Events January Bill Clinton January 1 : North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect. ... Ayrshire Bus Owners (A1 Service) Ltd was a prominent independent co_operative bus operator in Ayrshire, Scotland. ... North Ayrshire (Siorrachd Inbhir Àir a Tuath in Gaelic) is one of 32 unitary council regions in Scotland. ... Dalmellington (pop. ...

Stagecoach was also forced to withdraw from a co-operative service run from Ayr to Greenock, with Clyde Coast, Clydeside and AA Buses, after a wave of media criticism. A new operator, Ashton Coaches, had successfully pioneered the 585 Coastliner service from Ayr to Greenock. As this partially competed (though not directly) with services provided by Clyde Coast, Clydeside, AA Buses and Stagecoach Western Scottish, these operators provided two vehicles each, branded 535 Coastlink and using a similar green and white livery, and operated to the same timetable as the competition. An amicable resolve to the competition would not emerge for a few years. See Green for the color. ...

1995 also saw the purchase of the bus operations of Clyde Coast, and in June 1997 the bus operations of Dodds of Troon Ltd (AA Buses) of Ayr were purchased, together with the bus operations of Shuttle Buses, adding services around Kilwinning, Irvine and Troon to the Western operation. At that time, the head office was moved to Sandgate Bus Station in Ayr, and the company name changed to Western Buses Ltd in the process. Kilwinning is a historic town situated in North Ayrshire, Scotland. ... Irvine is a coastal new town in Ayrshire, Scotland, administered by North Ayrshire council. ... Troon is a town in South Ayrshire, Scotland and also a village on the outskirts of Camborne in Cornwall. ... The Royal Burgh of Ayr (Scottish Gaelic, Inbhir Àir) in the south-west of Scotland is a burgh situated on the Firth of Clyde. ... Stagecoach West Scotland is an operating region of Stagecoach UK Bus, comprising of Western Buses Ltd and Stagecoach Glasgow Ltd, based in Ayr, Scotland. ...

External links

• Stagecoach West Scotland website
• Stagecoach West Scotland Yahoo Group