The Central Story
1995 - 2000 : Into First Group
A new era may indeed have been dawning in the early days of 1995, but it certainly would not be characterised by stability. A Monopolies & Mergers Commission investigation into recent activity ruled that, whereas the SBL / KCB merger was in the public interest, the Stagecoach stake in the combined operation was not. It required Stagecoach to divest its 20% share.
Meanwhile, on the ground, the two fleets of Strathclyde Buses and Kelvin Central maintained outwardly distinctive appearances. Yet they were inevitably drawing ever closer together. KCB depots closed and were replaced by KCB units within SBL depots. Older SBL buses, including some of the distinctive Glasgow Atlanteans, started to appear in the Kelvin Central fleet. Some further tidying up of the operating area continued with the acquisition of independents such as Golden Eagle, Salsburgh.
The ownership issue was finally resolved in mid-1996 when FirstBus (the mega-group formed by the merger of GRT Holdings and Badgerline) made a generously-pitched bid for the whole SBL group, including of course the Stagecoach stake. The vote was overwhelmingly for acceptance of the bid and Stagecoach declared itself to be well satisfied with the outcome, having made a substantial profit on its short-term investment. The former employee-owners also found themselves in receipt of windfall payments beyond their dreams.
And so the former Central SMT operations had become part of the biggest bus group in Britain. Further developments saw the adoption of a common drab red livery and Greater Glasgow fleetname, the closure of Airdrie Depot (leaving Airbles as the sole-surviving Central operating base), the adoption of exact-fare operation and the spread of First Group (later simply 'First') corporate image.
So what remained of the Central SMT heritage by the end of the 20th Century? In short, precious little. Airbles depot was the sole base for Lanarkshire operations of First in Glasgow. Several routes in the Hamilton / Motherwell / Wishaw area were just about recognisable as being Central SMT-derived, often with an initial '2' in the route number. But the overall impression was one of severe retrenchment. First policy was to concentrate resources on the most profitable routes and withdraw from the others. This was usually marketed positively as a 'welcome simplification' of services. Whole areas of Lanarkshire (for example around Strathaven, Larkhall and Lanark) were not served at all by First as the new century dawned.
But by far the saddest story concerned my own former home area of Monklands. Once the domain of Baxter's and meeting point of the Eastern Scottish, Central SMT, Western SMT and Alexander (Midland) networks, Airdrie and Coatbridge were reduced to having a grand total of two First Glasgow services. The balance of the area's few remaining bus services was provided by a rag-bag of unattractive minibuses and the overall image was one of complete fragmentation, poor coverage and low quality. It became difficult to escape the conclusion that road-based public transport had all but died in large parts of the area.
But we have now entered a new century and a new age. To finish on a note of decline and decay would be overly pessimistic and wrong. There are many positive aspects to the public transport scene both at home and around the world. But a sense of history - even recent history - is important, for it helps us put the present in context. If this website has helped give a flavour of the former glories of the Scottish transport scene, or has helped rekindle fond memories in those lucky enough to have experienced those days at first hand, then it will have achieved its purpose and the work involved in creating it will surely have been worthwhile.
