Clydeside 2000
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Arriva Scotland West was a bus company based in
Inchinnan Inchinnan (; ) is a small village in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The village is located on the main A8 road between Renfrew and Greenock, just south east of the town of Erskine. History The name of Inchinnan village is derived from the Gaelic ...
, near Paisley,
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. It was formed in 1997 as a rebranding of the former Clydeside 2000 company when purchased by
Arriva Arriva Ltd. is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England. The company was originally established on 24 October 1938 as T Cowie Ltd. Initially focused on the sale of motorcycles, it relaunched shortl ...
. On 26 March 2012, the business was sold to
McGill's Bus Services McGill's Bus Services is a bus operator based in Greenock, Scotland. The company has grown to operate a network of routes covering much of the council areas of Inverclyde, East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, North Lanarkshire, Glasgow City (counci ...
.


History

Clydeside was formed as
Clydeside Scottish Clydeside Scottish Omnibuses Ltd was a bus operating subsidiary of the Scottish Transport Group formed in June 1985 from Western SMT Company Ltd. The company operated until May 1989, when it was remerged with Western Scottish, the successor com ...
in June 1985 from the northern operations of
Western SMT Western Scottish Motor Traction Co. Limited was a bus operator in south-west Scotland from 1929 to 1985. The company was formed in 1929 by the renaming of Scottish General Transport Co. Ltd, after the British Electric Traction subsidiary forme ...
to prepare the state-owned parent company, the
Scottish Bus Group The Scottish Bus Group (SBG) was a state-owned group of bus operators covering the whole of mainland Scotland. The origin of the grouping was the operators owned by and including the Scottish Motor Traction company, which were transferred to ...
, for
deregulation Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...
. At the time, Clydeside's operating area was much larger, covering
Inverclyde Inverclyde (, , , "mouth of the Clyde") is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Together with the East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire council areas, Inverclyde forms part of the historic county of Renfrewshire, which ...
(including the towns of
Gourock Gourock ( ; ) is a town in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area and formerly a burgh of the County of Renfrew in the west of Scotland. It was a resort town, seaside resort on the East shore of the upper Firth of Clyde. Its ma ...
and
Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...
), the
Isle of Bute The Isle of Bute (; or '), known as Bute (), is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, United Kingdom. It is divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault. Formerly a constituent island of the larger County of ...
and much of the south side of
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
. Clydeside was re-merged with
Western 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. This successor company is ...
(Western SMT's successor company) in 1989 in an attempt to make it more financially viable. However, on the privatisation of Western Scottish the Clydeside operations were sold in a
management buyout A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management- and/or leveraged buyouts became noted phenomena of 19 ...
as Clydeside 2000 plc with Luton & District taking a 23% stake. Clydeside began rationalising some of its operations, and depots at
Largs Largs () is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" (''An Leargaidh'') in Scottish Gaelic. A popular seaside resort with a pier, the town markets itself on its histor ...
, Paisley and
Thornliebank Thornliebank ( Scots: ''Thonliebank'', Scottish Gaelic: ''Bruach nan Dealgan'') is a suburban area in East Renfrewshire, in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. Part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation, it is located on the Auldhouse Burn about ...
were closed, the latter as a result of a reduction in operations within Glasgow. In November 1994, Clydeside 2000 was sold to
British Bus British Bus was a bus group in the United Kingdom. It was sold to the Cowie Group in August 1996. History British Bus was founded in November 1992 when the Drawlane Transport Group split its bus interests from its National Express in the lead ...
, who had just completed the take over of shareholder Luton & District. The new parent company began investing heavily in the ageing fleet. A more vibrant red, white and yellow livery was introduced, and new "Flagship" routes were created to raise quality levels. Clydeside Buses was included in the 1 August 1996 sale of British Bus to the
Cowie Group Arriva Ltd. is a British multinational corporation, multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England. The company was originally established on 24 October 1938 as T Cowie Ltd. Initially focused on the sale of motorcy ...
, which in November 1997 was rebranded as
Arriva Arriva Ltd. is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Sunderland, England. The company was originally established on 24 October 1938 as T Cowie Ltd. Initially focused on the sale of motorcycles, it relaunched shortl ...
. The main competitor in Greenock, Ashton Coaches, was purchased along with 62 buses in July 1997. The Greenock operations were re-branded GMS Greenock Motor Services, using Ashton's white, green and gold livery, in order to more effectively combat the plethora of small operators in the town. Long established independent operator
McGill's Bus Services McGill's Bus Services is a bus operator based in Greenock, Scotland. The company has grown to operate a network of routes covering much of the council areas of Inverclyde, East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, North Lanarkshire, Glasgow City (counci ...
of
Barrhead Barrhead (, ) is a town in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, southwest of Glasgow city centre on the edge of the Gleniffer Braes. At the 2011 census its population was 17,268. History Barrhead was formed when a series of small textile-produ ...
was also purchased in the same month, and initially continued to operate under its own identity. A stake was also taken in
Dart Buses Dart Buses was an independent bus operator in the Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley and Renfrewshire area in the 1990s. It was purchased by Cowie Group, who rebranded the operation Arriva Scotland West. Dart concentrated on fleet improvements and ...
of Paisley, another competitor, though this operator would soon go out of business. Shortly after being launched as Arriva Scotland West in 1998, the company flirted with operations outside its traditional operating area, successfully securing tenders to operate services in
Cumbernauld Cumbernauld (; ) is a large town in the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Dunbartonshire and council area of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, most-populous locality in Scotl ...
(where a depot was established for a few years) and south east Glasgow, though these were short-lived. It is said that Cumbernauld prompted "the look east". Arriva tried to expand further in Scotland by purchasing
Xplore Dundee Xplore Dundee is a bus operator based in Dundee, Scotland, operating services mainly within the city. The operator also runs a service to Edinburgh Airport. It is a subsidiary of the McGill's Group. History The company has its origins in the D ...
but they went to National Express instead. It was also interested in purchasing
Midland Bluebird Midland Scottish Omnibuses Ltd was a bus operator formed in June 1985 as a subsidiary of the Scottish Bus Group, created from part of W. Alexander & Sons (Midland) Ltd. The company operated as Midland Scottish until 1991, when it was renamed ...
and a
Strathclyde Buses Strathclyde Buses was a bus operator running services in Glasgow and west-central Scotland. The company commenced operations in October 1986 as an 'arms-length' successor to the Strathclyde Regional Council-owned Strathclyde Passenger Transpor ...
depot if they were sold following the OFT's requirements for First to sell them but Stagecoach's increased attempts at competing for the Greater Glasgow bus market put paid to that. Later that year, Arriva tried to run contracted services in Edinburgh.
Lothian Buses Lothian Buses is a major bus operator based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the largest municipal bus company in the United Kingdom: the City of Edinburgh Council (through Transport for Edinburgh) owns 91%, Midlothian Council 5%, East Lothia ...
had run the services for a while but when it was time to renew said contracts, the council considered Lothian's new tender prices to be too expensive. So then it invited other operators the opportunity to participate instead and was pleasantly surprised to see bids from Arriva using new low floor buses, for a substantially cheaper price than Lothian! The tenders were accepted but shortly before they were due to commence, the council was advised that Arriva had withdrawn their bids. In a move that some might consider to be of a dubious nature, Lothian also stated later that day that they could run the contracts for free when previously it couldn't. Exactly how that is still remains a mystery to this day. Further rationalisation took place in 2001, with the Inverclyde operations being sold to local management. Confusingly, the new operation was branded as
McGill's Bus Services McGill's Bus Services is a bus operator based in Greenock, Scotland. The company has grown to operate a network of routes covering much of the council areas of Inverclyde, East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, North Lanarkshire, Glasgow City (counci ...
- the company name and operating licence having been purchased with McGill's of Barrhead - based in
Port Glasgow Port Glasgow (, ) is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most recent census in 2011 s ...
, and employing a livery of blue, white and gold in the same styles as both Arriva and the GMS division, depending on what type of vehicle it was applied to. At the same time, the Barrhead depot, originally belonging to the initial McGill's Bus Service, was closed and operations concentrated on the two remaining depots. In 2007, BAA awarded the new Glasgow Flyer 500 service to Arriva, which bought eleven specially liveried
Wright Eclipse The Wright Eclipse is a low-floor single-deck bus body that was built by Wrightbus between 2000 and 2019. The second-generation Eclipse 2 was launched in 2008, followed by the third-generation Eclipse 3 in 2015. The Eclipse, and its sister desi ...
bodied
Volvo B7RLE The Volvo B7RLE is a low-entry single-deck bus chassis manufactured by Volvo. It was superseded by the Volvo B8RLE in 2013, with production of the B7RLE continuing until 2018. Specifications The Volvo B7RLE is similar to its predecessor, the ...
s for the service. As a result, the 905 Airlink service, jointly operated with Fairline Coaches under contract to
Scottish Citylink Scottish Citylink is a long-distance express coach operator in Scotland and Ireland (where it operates as Irish Citylink) and formerly England (where it operated as Stansted Citylink). The company was formed as a subsidiary of Scottish Transp ...
, ended; however Fairline have since started an independent service numbered 905. In August 2010 the company, along with
First Glasgow First Glasgow is the largest bus company serving the Greater Glasgow area in Scotland. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. The company operates within the area covered by the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, a public body responsible for h ...
, were banned by the area Traffic Commissioner from registering any new services into Glasgow city centre for six months after being found guilty of breaching regulations by picking up and dropping off passengers at locations other than their designated bus stops. One other operator was also banned. In December 2011, Arriva announced it had agreed to sell the business to
McGill's Bus Services McGill's Bus Services is a bus operator based in Greenock, Scotland. The company has grown to operate a network of routes covering much of the council areas of Inverclyde, East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, North Lanarkshire, Glasgow City (counci ...
.Arriva exits Scotland with Sale to McGill's
''Bus & Coach Professional'' 14 December 2011
The transaction was referred to the Competition Commission, before being approved in 2012.


Fleet

Below is a list of each depot fleet before the sale to McGill's. Most buses were transferred over to McGill's as part of the deal when the assets of Arriva Scotland West were sold to McGill's.


Inchinnan Depot

Location:
Inchinnan Inchinnan (; ) is a small village in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The village is located on the main A8 road between Renfrew and Greenock, just south east of the town of Erskine. History The name of Inchinnan village is derived from the Gaelic ...
(Greenock Road) *2
Volvo B7RLE The Volvo B7RLE is a low-entry single-deck bus chassis manufactured by Volvo. It was superseded by the Volvo B8RLE in 2013, with production of the B7RLE continuing until 2018. Specifications The Volvo B7RLE is similar to its predecessor, the ...
/
Wright Eclipse The Wright Eclipse is a low-floor single-deck bus body that was built by Wrightbus between 2000 and 2019. The second-generation Eclipse 2 was launched in 2008, followed by the third-generation Eclipse 3 in 2015. The Eclipse, and its sister desi ...
*29
Dennis Dart SLF The Dennis Dart is a rear-engined single-decker midibus chassis that was introduced by Dennis of Guildford, England, in 1989, replacing the Dennis Domino. Initially built as a high-floor design, in 1996 the low-floor second generation Denn ...
/
Plaxton Pointer The Plaxton Pointer (originally known as the Reeve Burgess Pointer, and later as the TransBus Pointer and Alexander Dennis Pointer) is a single-deck midibus body that was manufactured between 1991 and 2006, predominantly on the Dennis Dart chas ...
*3 DAF SB120 /
Wright Cadet The Wright Cadet was a low floor midibus body built on the DAF/VDL SB120 chassis by Wrightbus between 2000 and 2008. It was sold via VDL dealer Arriva Bus & Coach. Of the 681 produced, 366 were for Arriva subsidiaries, including eight for i ...
*2
VDL SB120 The VDL SB120 (previously known as the DAF SB120) was a low floor light-weight midibus produced from 1999 by VDL Bus & Coach (formerly DAF Bus International) of the Netherlands primarily for the United Kingdom market. The SB120 was similar to i ...
/ Wright Cadet *10
VDL SB200 The VDL SB200 (originally the DAF SB200) is a light-weight, low floor single decker bus chassis that was produced from 2001 (to 2014 for the UK) by VDL Bus & Coach (formerly DAF Bus International). It superseded the SB220. It is originally de ...
/ Wright Pulsar 2 *4 VDL SB200/ Wright Commander *6
Scania OmniLink The Scania OmniLink is a series of integrally constructed rear longitudinal-engined low-entry city buses available on the European market. It is a complete integral product built by Scania of Sweden. The OmniLink was launched in 1998 with an in ...


Johnstone Depot

Location:
Johnstone Johnstone (,
) is a town in the
Dennis Dart The Dennis Dart is a Rear-engine design, rear-engined single-decker bus, single-decker midibus chassis that was introduced by Dennis Specialist Vehicles, Dennis of Guildford, England, in 1989, replacing the Dennis Domino. Initially built as a ...
/
Northern Counties Paladin The Northern Counties Paladin, also badged as the Plaxton Paladin towards the end of production, is a step-entrance single-decker bus body built by Northern Counties of Wigan, UK, between 1991 and 1998. The replacements for the Paladin are ...
*16
Dennis Dart The Dennis Dart is a Rear-engine design, rear-engined single-decker bus, single-decker midibus chassis that was introduced by Dennis Specialist Vehicles, Dennis of Guildford, England, in 1989, replacing the Dennis Domino. Initially built as a ...
/ Plaxton Pointer 1 *54
Dennis Dart SLF The Dennis Dart is a rear-engined single-decker midibus chassis that was introduced by Dennis of Guildford, England, in 1989, replacing the Dennis Domino. Initially built as a high-floor design, in 1996 the low-floor second generation Denn ...
/
Alexander ALX200 The Alexander ALX200 was a single-decker bus body built by Walter Alexander Coachbuilders, Alexander of the United Kingdom. It was created for low-floor bus chassis produced from the late 1990s and was launched in spring 1996 as a low-floor rep ...
*23 Dennis Dart SLF /
Plaxton Pointer The Plaxton Pointer (originally known as the Reeve Burgess Pointer, and later as the TransBus Pointer and Alexander Dennis Pointer) is a single-deck midibus body that was manufactured between 1991 and 2006, predominantly on the Dennis Dart chas ...
*3
Mercedes-Benz Citaro The Mercedes-Benz Citaro is a single-decker, rigid or articulated bus manufactured by Mercedes-Benz/ EvoBus. Introduced in 1997, the Citaro is available in a range of configurations, and is in widespread use throughout Europe and parts of Asia, ...
*9
Volvo B7RLE The Volvo B7RLE is a low-entry single-deck bus chassis manufactured by Volvo. It was superseded by the Volvo B8RLE in 2013, with production of the B7RLE continuing until 2018. Specifications The Volvo B7RLE is similar to its predecessor, the ...
/
Wright Eclipse The Wright Eclipse is a low-floor single-deck bus body that was built by Wrightbus between 2000 and 2019. The second-generation Eclipse 2 was launched in 2008, followed by the third-generation Eclipse 3 in 2015. The Eclipse, and its sister desi ...
*2
DAF Daf (), also known as dâyere and riq, is an Iranian frame drum musical instrument, also used in popular and classical music in Persian-influenced South and Central Asia, such as in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, many ...
SB3000 /
Van Hool Van Hool NV () was a Belgium, Belgian coachbuilder and manufacturer of buses, Coach (bus), coaches, trolleybuses, and Semi-trailer, trailers. Most of the buses and coaches were built entirely by Van Hool, with engines and axles sourced from C ...
Alizee *5
Scania N113 The Scania N113 was a transverse-engined step-entrance and low-floor city bus chassis manufactured by Scania between 1988 and 2000. History The Scania N113 was designed as a successor to the N112. Most of the single-decker buses and the ...
/ East Lancs *2
Volvo B6 The Volvo B6 was a engined midibus chassis manufactured by Volvo between 1991 and 1999. It was also available as the low-entry Volvo B6LE. History In the United Kingdom, the B6 competed in the midibus market with the Dennis Dart, and with the ...
/
Plaxton Pointer The Plaxton Pointer (originally known as the Reeve Burgess Pointer, and later as the TransBus Pointer and Alexander Dennis Pointer) is a single-deck midibus body that was manufactured between 1991 and 2006, predominantly on the Dennis Dart chas ...
(Trainer vehicles) *3
Mercedes-Benz Vario The Mercedes-Benz Vario (model designation BM667/668/670) is a full-size commercial heavy van and medium duty truck manufactured by Mercedes-Benz between 1996 and 2013. History The Vario was launched in 1996 as a facelifted version of the Mer ...
/
Plaxton Beaver The Plaxton Beaver, originally known as the Reeve Burgess Beaver, is a minibus body built by Plaxton. It was built at the Pilsley, North East Derbyshire, Pilsley, Derbyshire factory of Plaxton's Reeve Burgess subsidiary from 1987 to 1991, at Plax ...
*1
Optare MetroRider The Optare MetroRider is a midibus that was manufactured by Optare between 1989 and 2000. History Optare based the original design on the MCW Metrorider after it bought the rights from Metro Cammell Weymann after the latter decided to cease ...
(Staff vehicle) *5
Volvo B10B The Volvo B10B was a rear-engined step deck single-decker bus chassis manufactured by Volvo between 1992 and 2001. The first prototype were built in 1990, but the B10B wasn't launched until the 1992 Geneva Motor Show. It superseded the Leyland L ...
/
Wright Endurance The Wright Endurance was a step-entrance single-decker bus body on Scania N113 and on Volvo B10B chassis by Wrightbus between 1992 and 1997. Design The Wright Endurance was unveiled in November 1991 as the company's first single-decker 'cit ...
*2
Volvo B6LE The Volvo B6 was a engined midibus chassis manufactured by Volvo between 1991 and 1999. It was also available as the low-entry Volvo B6LE. History In the United Kingdom, the B6 competed in the midibus market with the Dennis Dart, and with the ...
/
Wright Crusader The Wright Crusader was a single-deck midibus body built on Dennis Dart SLF, Volvo B6LE and Volvo B6BLE chassis by Wrightbus between 1995 and 2002. First generation (1995–2000) The Wright Crusader was first introduced on the Volvo B ...
*2
Dennis Dart SLF The Dennis Dart is a rear-engined single-decker midibus chassis that was introduced by Dennis of Guildford, England, in 1989, replacing the Dennis Domino. Initially built as a high-floor design, in 1996 the low-floor second generation Denn ...
/ Wright Crusader *2 Dennis Dart SLF /
East Lancs Spryte The East Lancs Spryte was a Low-floor bus, low floor single-decker bus body built by East Lancashire Coachbuilders primarily for construction on the Dennis Dart SLF chassis. Design The Spryte was the first East Lancs body to be constructed usi ...


References


External links

{{Defunct British Bus Companies Arriva Group companies Former bus operators in Scotland Transport in Glasgow Transport in Paisley, Renfrewshire 1985 establishments in Scotland 2012 disestablishments in Scotland