Scottish Citylink - Today

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 Motors (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.