Central SMT

Never a high-profile part of the company's operations, Central ran a small fleet of midi- and mini-buses from the 1970s onwards. Initially, they were an attempt to find a vehicle for local services in East Kilbride, which ventured off the main roads and were therefore not suitable for full-size buses. Hence some very surprising arrivals, for example some small Bedford buses that had started life with MacBraynes! The final acquisitions for EK Locals, the Leyland Cubs, are shown under the Single-deck Buses section.

With the onset of deregulation in 1986, Central acquired its first fleet of minibuses as a competitive weapon. Again based at East Kilbride, these were later used on Hamilton local services, following closure of the remaining depot in that town. In this connection, they wore a green-based Little Chief livery, a variation of the EK Chieftain local identity adopted in 1989.