Scottish Citylink
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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.
[edit] Operation
Originally formed to take over the express services of the Scottish Bus Group subsidiaries, particularly the Western Scottish and Eastern Scottish services from Glasgow and Edinburgh to London and the south, Citylink was the largest operator of long distance express services within Scotland, and from Scotland to England and Wales. With main 'hubs' in Glasgow and Edinburgh, many services to the Highlands and Islands were in some cases vital to rural areas as they were the only bus services to pass through certain villages (which still holds true today).
However, since divestment by National Express in 1998 the company has restricted itself to internal Scottish routes. Approximately 90 coaches, provided by operators local to the 'destination' area, operate some 19 routes throughout Scotland, linking the main cities of Glasgow, 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.
In 2002, the company began trading in the Republic of Ireland, acquring Cummer Commercials Limited, which operated on the Dublin-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-Shannon.
[edit] 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. Though Citylink itself did not own or operate any vehicles, 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'. 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.
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.
In [1993] National Express 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 and purchased Skye-Ways and Highland Country Buses, an off-shoot of Highland Scottish.
With the break-up and privatisation of British Rail, National Express 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 £10.2m in 1998.
The company is today headquartered at Buchanan Bus Station in Glasgow, and its services are still operated by franchise partners; Citylink itself does not own or operate any vehicles. 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 has faced heavy competition from Megabus and Motorvator, both subsidiaries of the Stagecoach Group. In particular, the Glasgow to Edinburgh flagship route competes fiercely with the Motorvator operation since its acquisition by Stagecoach.
