Scottish Citylink
Encyclopedia
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. Since 2006 it has been operated as a 65:35 joint venture between Singapore based ComfortDelGro and Perth (Scotland) based Stagecoach Group
.
, Edinburgh
, Aberdeen
, Dundee
, Stirling
and Inverness
, as well as linking the rural Highland
communities to the main urban areas of Scotland. Services also operate to Northern Ireland
via the ferry
links between Stranraer
and Belfast
, and there are seasonal workings to Blackpool
. In all, over 200 destinations are served by Scottish Citylink within Scotland on a network utilising approximately 90 coaches provided by operators local to the 'destination' area, carrying over 3 million passengers annually.
Despite the extent of Citylink's operations in Scotland, there are notable geographical regions that have little to no connections with the network, some of which include large urban areas. These tend to be areas served by subsidiaries of the Stagecoach Group
, which operate their own comprehensive Stagecoach Express network, such as Ayrshire
(Kilmarnock
, Ayr
and Irvine), Fife
(Kirkcaldy
, Dunfermline
and St Andrews
), Dumfries & Galloway, Aberdeenshire
and Moray
. An exception is the Scottish Borders
, which is covered by the First Group, though has no regular express service.
Citylink also operates in the Republic of Ireland, operating between Dublin, Galway City, Clifden
, Cork
and Shannon
.
and Eastern Scottish
services from Glasgow and Edinburgh to London
and the south. By combining the SBG express network, Citylink became the largest operator of long distance express services within Scotland, and from Scotland to England
and Wales
. With the main 'hubs' in Glasgow and Edinburgh, many services to the Highlands and Islands
were in some cases vital to rural areas as the only public transport link available (which still holds true today).
One vehicle was owned to satisfy licensing conditions but this was operated as part of the Western Scottish fleet. Citylink itself did not operate any vehicles but a uniform two-tone blue
and yellow
livery
was introduced for coaches operating Citylink services, with the subsidiary's corporate fleetname displayed on the front and rear of the vehicle, e.g. 'Western Scottish'. Previously, only cross-border services had adopted some form of corporate look in the late 1970s, with vehicles wearing a simple but striking blue and white
livery with bold "Scottish" fleetnames in the SBG corporate logo style.
Subsidiary companies operated Citylink vehicles on express services originating from their operating area, and where long distance services spanned one or two operating areas, the routes were shared between the companies. The level of involvement of the subsidiary firms in providing Citylink work varied with size and geography
, however. Central Scottish
, Strathtay Scottish
, Kelvin Scottish
and Clydeside Scottish
were the smaller contributors as no major city or destination lay within their main operating regions. Indeed, Clydeside marketed its own express services within its area as 'Clydeside Quicksliver' with its own distinct brand.
As the Scottish Bus Group prepared for privatisation, Citylink franchises were no longer exclusive to the SBG subsidiaries. Private companies such as Rapson's Coaches, based in Inverness, Henry Crawford Coaches in Neilston, West Coast Motors
(of Campbeltown), Skye-Ways and Park's Of Hamilton were awarded Citylink contracts and provided vehicles of their own for this work. Also seen using a Citylink livery but with the distinctive 'Ulsterman' lettering, Ulsterbus provided coaches for services between Londonderry / Belfast to Brimaingham and London via towns in Dumfries and Galloway. This route was also operated by Dodds of Troon and Western Scottish.
Citylink itself was privatised in August 1990, when its management and employees (through a company called Clansman, later Saltire Holdings) purchased the firm for £
265k. As the Scottish Bus Group broke up, the number of private operators working Citylink contracts increased. Park's, West Coast Motors (of Campbeltown) and Rapson's were now major contributors, while the former SBG companies now owned by Stagecoach (Fife Scottish
, Western Scottish, Bluebird Buses
) began operating their own Stagecoach Express network to, and throughout, their respective operating areas.
In 1993 National Express Group
(NEG) purchased the firm for £5m. At that time, cross border services to England were replaced by National Express services, leaving Citylink with Scottish domestic services, and co-ordinated timetabling and ticketing was introduced between the two operators. During this period, Citylink took a stake in West Coast Motors, purchased Skye-Ways Coaches and also Highland Country Buses, which was an off-shoot of Highland Scottish
.
With the break-up and privatisation of British Rail
, NEG successfully won the ScotRail
franchise
in 1997. As a result, the Competition Commission
ordered the sale of Scottish Citylink as it believed National Express would have the monopoly of long distance bus and rail services in Scotland. Metroline
, the London based subsidiary of Singapore
firm ComfortDelGro Corporation
, bought Citylink for £10.2 m in 1998.
In 2002, the company began trading in the Republic of Ireland, acquiring Cummer Commercials Ltd, which operated on the Dublin to Galway route (and confusingly also traded as CityLink Express). The route has since been rebranded to the yellow-blue Citylink livery (although without the "Scottish" prefix) and has expanded to provide services from Galway to Shannon.
(of Campbeltown) to satisfy licensing conditions). The two-tone blue and yellow colour scheme is still used, though its application and style have changed over the years to remain fresh and modern.
More recently, Scottish Citylink faced heavy competition from Megabus
and Motorvator
, both subsidiaries of the Stagecoach Group. In particular, the Glasgow to Edinburgh flagship route competed fiercely with the Motorvator operation since its acquisition by Stagecoach in July 2004. However, on 13 September 2005, Stagecoach and ComfortDelGro agreed to a joint venture on the provision of express coach services in Scotland, ending the competition between the two operators. Under the terms of the agreement, Stagecoach would take a 35% stake in Scottish Citylink Coaches Ltd and in return grant certain rights to the Megabus and Motorvator brands in Scotland.
Despite being a minority shareholder, Stagecoach appears to have assumed operational control. Stagecoach staff have replaced much of the former Citylink management, while Stagecoach's Scottish subsidiaries began operating many of the routes formerly operated by subcontractors displaced from Citylink work. Citylink service numbers, timetables and routes have also been sacrificed in favour of Megabus where the two brands overlap.
Following an investigation which started in March 2006, the Competition Commission
ruled that the joint venture substantially reduces competition and that evidence suggests it has already led to higher fares on some routes. Stagecoach immediately criticised the ruling, stating that a period of further consultation would cause uncertainty among passengers and leave vital services in limbo, while jeopardising Scotland's intercity coach network and its ability to compete with both train and car Criticism of the Competition Commission's draft findings grew in Scotland and the joint venture received support from across the political spectrum in the Scottish Parliament
However, in early 2008, certain routes were divested to Parks Motor Group
, a family-owned enterprise, to satisfy the Commission.
and Aberdeen
or Inverness
. The Citylink Gold brand is similar to the Stagecoach Gold
brand used by Stagecoach Bus subsidiaries providing a more luxurious service with leather seats, free wi-fi and extra services aboard. With Citylink Gold passengers can receive free tea and coffee on the respective services. Three services per day in each direction on both services from Glasgow
to Aberdeen
and Glasgow
to Inverness
are designated as Citylink Gold. Fares have remained the same with Super Singles available on the routes as they were whilst under standard Citylink branding. The Citylink Gold services are as follows:
Early in 2007 Stagecoach and Citylink introduced 15m coaches which can seat 65 passengers or 63 with a wheelchair, Plaxton Panthers on a Volvo B12B Chassis. These coaches have wheelchair access though the main door at the front of the coach with a powered wheelchair lift.
Stagecoach Glasgow have also taken delivery of three 12.3m Plaxton Panthers with the same wheelchair access, more are on order for use on the Citylink/Megabus routes to Dundee and Inverness.
West Coast Motors have recently taken delivery of 5 new Scania/Irizar coaches for use on the 926 from Glasgow to Campbeltown and entered service in August 2011.
Coach (vehicle)
A coach is a large motor vehicle, a type of bus, used for conveying passengers on excursions and on longer distance express coach scheduled transport between cities - or even between countries...
operator in 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...
and the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
(where it operates simply as "Citylink
CityLink Ireland
CityLink Ireland is a private operator of public transport in the Republic of Ireland. It operates long distance bus services between Dublin and Galway, between Galway and Clifden, and between Galway and Cork ....
"). The company was formed as a subsidiary of Scottish Transport Group in June 1985. Since 2006 it has been operated as a 65:35 joint venture between Singapore based ComfortDelGro and Perth (Scotland) based Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Sir Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...
.
Operation
Scottish Citlyink operate an extensive network of long distance express services within Scotland, operating some 19 routes linking the cities of GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
, Stirling
Stirling
Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...
and Inverness
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
, as well as linking the rural Highland
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
communities to the main urban areas of Scotland. Services also operate to Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
via the ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
links between Stranraer
Stranraer
Stranraer is a town in the southwest of Scotland. It lies in the west of Dumfries and Galloway and in the county of Wigtownshire.Stranraer lies on the shores of Loch Ryan on the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland...
and Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, and there are seasonal workings to Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
. In all, over 200 destinations are served by Scottish Citylink within Scotland on a network utilising approximately 90 coaches provided by operators local to the 'destination' area, carrying over 3 million passengers annually.
Despite the extent of Citylink's operations in Scotland, there are notable geographical regions that have little to no connections with the network, some of which include large urban areas. These tend to be areas served by subsidiaries of the Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Sir Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...
, which operate their own comprehensive Stagecoach Express network, such as Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
(Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock
Kilmarnock is a large burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland, with a population of 44,734. It is the second largest town in Ayrshire. The River Irvine runs through its eastern section, and the Kilmarnock Water passes through it, giving rise to the name 'Bank Street'...
, Ayr
Ayr
Ayr is a town and port situated on the Firth of Clyde in south-west Scotland. With a population of around 46,000, Ayr is the largest settlement in Ayrshire, of which it is the county town, and has held royal burgh status since 1205...
and Irvine), Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
(Kirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. The town lies on a shallow bay on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth; SSE of Glenrothes, ENE of Dunfermline, WSW of Dundee and NNE of Edinburgh...
, Dunfermline
Dunfermline
Dunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to a 2008 estimate, Dunfermline has a population of 46,430, making it the second-biggest settlement in Fife. Part of the town's name comes from the Gaelic word...
and St Andrews
St Andrews
St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
), Dumfries & Galloway, Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...
and Moray
Moray
Moray is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.- History :...
. An exception is the Scottish Borders
Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan counties of Northumberland...
, which is covered by the First Group, though has no regular express service.
Citylink also operates in the Republic of Ireland, operating between Dublin, Galway City, Clifden
Clifden
Clifden is a town on the coast of County Galway, Ireland and being Connemara's largest town, it is often referred to as "the Capital of Connemara". It is located on the Owenglen River where it flows into Clifden Bay...
, Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
and Shannon
Shannon, County Clare
Shannon or Shannon Town , named after the river near which it stands, is a town located in County Clare. It was given town status on 1 January 1982. The town is located just off the N19 road, a spur of the N18/M18 road between Limerick city and Ennis....
.
History
Scottish Citylink Coaches Ltd was formed in the reorganisation of the Scottish Bus Group in 1985 to co-ordinate and manage the long distance express services operated by the other SBG subsidiaries, particularly the Western ScottishWestern 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...
and Eastern Scottish
Eastern Scottish
Eastern 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...
services from Glasgow and Edinburgh to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and the south. By combining the SBG express network, Citylink became the largest operator of long distance express services within Scotland, and from Scotland to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. With the main 'hubs' in Glasgow and Edinburgh, many services to the Highlands and Islands
Highlands and Islands
The Highlands and Islands of Scotland are broadly the Scottish Highlands plus Orkney, Shetland and the Hebrides.The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act of 1886 applied...
were in some cases vital to rural areas as the only public transport link available (which still holds true today).
One vehicle was owned to satisfy licensing conditions but this was operated as part of the Western Scottish fleet. Citylink itself did not operate any vehicles but a uniform two-tone blue
Blue
Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...
and yellow
Yellow
Yellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M cone cells of the retina about equally, with no significant stimulation of the S cone cells. Light with a wavelength of 570–590 nm is yellow, as is light with a suitable mixture of red and green...
livery
Livery
A livery is a uniform, insignia or symbol adorning, in a non-military context, a person, an object or a vehicle that denotes a relationship between the wearer of the livery and an individual or corporate body. Often, elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or corporate body feature in...
was introduced for coaches operating Citylink services, with the subsidiary's corporate fleetname displayed on the front and rear of the vehicle, e.g. 'Western Scottish'. Previously, only cross-border services had adopted some form of corporate look in the late 1970s, with vehicles wearing a simple but striking blue and white
White
White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
livery with bold "Scottish" fleetnames in the SBG corporate logo style.
Subsidiary companies operated Citylink vehicles on express services originating from their operating area, and where long distance services spanned one or two operating areas, the routes were shared between the companies. The level of involvement of the subsidiary firms in providing Citylink work varied with size and geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, however. 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 :...
, Strathtay Scottish
Strathtay Scottish
Stagecoach 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...
, 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...
and 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...
were the smaller contributors as no major city or destination lay within their main operating regions. Indeed, Clydeside marketed its own express services within its area as 'Clydeside Quicksliver' with its own distinct brand.
As the Scottish Bus Group prepared for privatisation, Citylink franchises were no longer exclusive to the SBG subsidiaries. Private companies such as Rapson's Coaches, based in Inverness, Henry Crawford Coaches in Neilston, West Coast Motors
West Coast Motors
West Coast Motors is a coach and bus operator based in Campbeltown in Argyll. The founding of the company dates back to 1921. As well as the Campbeltown HQ, the company has bases in Ardrishaig, Oban, Dunoon, Rothesay and Glasgow.-History:...
(of Campbeltown), Skye-Ways and Park's Of Hamilton were awarded Citylink contracts and provided vehicles of their own for this work. Also seen using a Citylink livery but with the distinctive 'Ulsterman' lettering, Ulsterbus provided coaches for services between Londonderry / Belfast to Brimaingham and London via towns in Dumfries and Galloway. This route was also operated by Dodds of Troon and Western Scottish.
Citylink itself was privatised in August 1990, when its management and employees (through a company called Clansman, later Saltire Holdings) purchased the firm for £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
265k. As the Scottish Bus Group broke up, the number of private operators working Citylink contracts increased. Park's, West Coast Motors (of Campbeltown) and Rapson's were now major contributors, while the former SBG companies now owned by Stagecoach (Fife Scottish
Fife Scottish
Fife 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 :...
, Western Scottish, Bluebird Buses
Stagecoach East Scotland
Stagecoach East Scotland is an operating region of Stagecoach UK Bus, with its regional base in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland and including the legal companies Bluebird Buses Ltd, Fife Scottish Buses Ltd,Stagecoach Ltd, Strathtay Scottish Omnibuses Ltd, JW Coaches Ltd and Rennie's of Dunfermline Ltd.-...
) began operating their own Stagecoach Express network to, and throughout, their respective operating areas.
In 1993 National Express Group
National Express Group
National Express Group plc is a British transport group headquartered in Birmingham that operates bus, coach, rail and tram services in the UK, the US and Canada, Spain, Portugal and Morocco and long-distance coach routes across Europe...
(NEG) purchased the firm for £5m. At that time, cross border services to England were replaced by National Express services, leaving Citylink with Scottish domestic services, and co-ordinated timetabling and ticketing was introduced between the two operators. During this period, Citylink took a stake in West Coast Motors, purchased Skye-Ways Coaches and also Highland Country Buses, which was an off-shoot of Highland Scottish
Highland Scottish
Highland 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...
.
With the break-up and privatisation of British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
, NEG successfully won the ScotRail
ScotRail
ScotRail was a brand name used for all Scottish regional and commuter rail services, including some cross-border services, from 1997 to 2004....
franchise
Exclusive right
In Anglo-Saxon law, an exclusive right is a de facto, non-tangible prerogative existing in law to perform an action or acquire a benefit and to permit or deny others the right to perform the same action or to acquire the same benefit. A "prerogative" is in effect an exclusive right...
in 1997. As a result, the Competition Commission
Competition Commission
The Competition Commission is a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under competition law in the United Kingdom...
ordered the sale of Scottish Citylink as it believed National Express would have the monopoly of long distance bus and rail services in Scotland. Metroline
Metroline
Metroline, owned by ComfortDelGro Corporation of Singapore, is one of many companies operating bus services in London under the management of London Buses.-Company history:...
, the London based subsidiary of Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
firm ComfortDelGro Corporation
ComfortDelGro Corporation
ComfortDelGro Corporation Limited is the world's second-largest transport company with a fleet of 46,200 vehicles.Headquartered in Singapore, ComfortDelGro also has operations in China, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, Vietnam and Malaysia. Currently, overseas ventures account for 50% of...
, bought Citylink for £10.2 m in 1998.
In 2002, the company began trading in the Republic of Ireland, acquiring Cummer Commercials Ltd, which operated on the Dublin to Galway route (and confusingly also traded as CityLink Express). The route has since been rebranded to the yellow-blue Citylink livery (although without the "Scottish" prefix) and has expanded to provide services from Galway to Shannon.
Today
The company is today headquartered at Buchanan Bus Station in Glasgow, and its services are still operated by franchise partners; Citylink itself does not operate any vehicles (one vehicle is owned and operated by West Coast MotorsWest Coast Motors
West Coast Motors is a coach and bus operator based in Campbeltown in Argyll. The founding of the company dates back to 1921. As well as the Campbeltown HQ, the company has bases in Ardrishaig, Oban, Dunoon, Rothesay and Glasgow.-History:...
(of Campbeltown) to satisfy licensing conditions). The two-tone blue and yellow colour scheme is still used, though its application and style have changed over the years to remain fresh and modern.
More recently, Scottish Citylink faced heavy competition from Megabus
Megabus (United Kingdom)
Megabus is a UK coach service operated by Stagecoach Group. It started in 2003 and as of February 2010 operated 19 UK coach routes serving 41 destinations in England, Scotland and Wales. Some services link with Megatrain services which are also operated by Stagecoach...
and Motorvator
Stagecoach West Scotland
Stagecoach West Scotland is an operating region of Stagecoach UK Bus, comprising Western Buses Ltd and Stagecoach Glasgow Ltd, based in Ayr, Scotland.-Operation:...
, both subsidiaries of the Stagecoach Group. In particular, the Glasgow to Edinburgh flagship route competed fiercely with the Motorvator operation since its acquisition by Stagecoach in July 2004. However, on 13 September 2005, Stagecoach and ComfortDelGro agreed to a joint venture on the provision of express coach services in Scotland, ending the competition between the two operators. Under the terms of the agreement, Stagecoach would take a 35% stake in Scottish Citylink Coaches Ltd and in return grant certain rights to the Megabus and Motorvator brands in Scotland.
Despite being a minority shareholder, Stagecoach appears to have assumed operational control. Stagecoach staff have replaced much of the former Citylink management, while Stagecoach's Scottish subsidiaries began operating many of the routes formerly operated by subcontractors displaced from Citylink work. Citylink service numbers, timetables and routes have also been sacrificed in favour of Megabus where the two brands overlap.
Following an investigation which started in March 2006, the Competition Commission
Competition Commission
The Competition Commission is a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under competition law in the United Kingdom...
ruled that the joint venture substantially reduces competition and that evidence suggests it has already led to higher fares on some routes. Stagecoach immediately criticised the ruling, stating that a period of further consultation would cause uncertainty among passengers and leave vital services in limbo, while jeopardising Scotland's intercity coach network and its ability to compete with both train and car Criticism of the Competition Commission's draft findings grew in Scotland and the joint venture received support from across the political spectrum in the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
However, in early 2008, certain routes were divested to Parks Motor Group
Parks Motor Group
Park's Motor Group is a large company based in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire in Central Scotland. It is one of the most well-known and recognisable brands in Scotland. The company is wholly owned by Douglas Park who founded the business in 1971 as a coach and bus operation with three vehicles...
, a family-owned enterprise, to satisfy the Commission.
Citylink Gold
In 2010, the Citylink Gold brand was launched for selected services between GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
or Inverness
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
. The Citylink Gold brand is similar to the Stagecoach Gold
Stagecoach Goldline
Stagecoach Gold, previously, Goldline is an experimental brand used by various Stagecoach Group bus subsidiaries in the United Kingdom. It was started in Perth and Warwick in November 2007. It was extended to Aldershot from February 2009, and in September 2009 Stagecoach West started a new...
brand used by Stagecoach Bus subsidiaries providing a more luxurious service with leather seats, free wi-fi and extra services aboard. With Citylink Gold passengers can receive free tea and coffee on the respective services. Three services per day in each direction on both services from Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
to Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
and Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
to Inverness
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
are designated as Citylink Gold. Fares have remained the same with Super Singles available on the routes as they were whilst under standard Citylink branding. The Citylink Gold services are as follows:
- G9 Glasgow - Aberdeen
- G10 Glasgow - Aviemore - Inverness
Accessible Coach Routes
- 900: Glasgow - Edinburgh
- M8 : Glasgow - Dundee
- M9 : Glasgow - Aberdeen
- M10: Glasgow - Inverness
- 926: Glasgow - Campbeltown
Early in 2007 Stagecoach and Citylink introduced 15m coaches which can seat 65 passengers or 63 with a wheelchair, Plaxton Panthers on a Volvo B12B Chassis. These coaches have wheelchair access though the main door at the front of the coach with a powered wheelchair lift.
Stagecoach Glasgow have also taken delivery of three 12.3m Plaxton Panthers with the same wheelchair access, more are on order for use on the Citylink/Megabus routes to Dundee and Inverness.
West Coast Motors have recently taken delivery of 5 new Scania/Irizar coaches for use on the 926 from Glasgow to Campbeltown and entered service in August 2011.