Glenvale's Expansion
The acquisition of CMT Buses enabled GTL to become Merseyside's second largest bus operator. Initially GTL kept CMT Buses as a separate entity, maintaining their all over bright red livery and yellow CMT Buses/liver bird logos along with CMT's route network, some of which duplicated those of GTL.
In October 2003, however, management of the Aintree depot was passed over to GTL's management team and service network rationalised to co-ordinate with those of GTL. New blue 'GTL' logos were applied to the CMT vehicles and GTL adopted a darker all-red livery to replace the ex-MTL cream/crimson livery. There was again talk of investment in new vehicles along with possible expansion on Merseyside (opening a depot in the Speke area to compete directly with Arriva's South Liverpool services) and beyond.
A possible network of services on the Wirral along with rumours of GTL acquiring First Cheshire & Wirral's depot at Rock Ferry and a move into London Buses tendered contracts - Dominic Brady and Ian Campbell had been part of MTL London's management team - along with an Alternative Investment Market listing on the London Stock Exchange as a means for GTL to raise funds for investment. However GTL achieved none of this and by the end of 2003 it was still perceived by many within the bus industry as a small Merseyside-based operator with a rapidly aging fleet of ex-London double deckers - even after the CMT Buses acquisition.
Read more about this topic: Glenvale Transport
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