Operation
Stagecoach West Scotland operates in west central and southwest Scotland, in an area bounded by Greenock and Braehead to the north, Hamilton to the east, Carlisle to the south and the Isle of Arran to the west. Frequent express services also reach Glasgow from throughout Ayrshire.
Stagecoach West Scotland operates under five different brands:
- Stagecoach Western is the prevalent brand and is used for the vast majority of bus operations throughout the West Scotland region. Stagecoach Western branded vehicles wear the Stagecoach corporate livery of red, blue, orange and white. It is the principal trading name of Western Buses Ltd.
- Stagecoach A1 Service, was a trading name of Western Buses Ltd, is used for the trunk service between Ardrossan and Kilmarnock that came with the purchase of the A1 Service business, though this trading name occasionally overlaps the Stagecoach Western brand in the area previously served by the independent A1 Service. Vehicles under this brand wear a simple blue and cream livery. (As of June 2010 vehicles now carry Stagecoach corporate livery.)
- Stagecoach in Glasgow is used for services within Glasgow and those from Glasgow to Cumbernauld. Initially not carried on any vehicles while the Magic Bus brand was used for services in the city, it is now commonplace on Glasgow-based buses. It is the trading name of Stagecoach Glasgow Ltd.
In addition, vehicles operating on the former AA Buses services in the Irvine area wear the historical AA green and cream livery, though to date there has never been a Stagecoach AA Buses brand. Buses wearing this livery carry simplistic 'Stagecoach' branding.
The company also provide vehicles for Scottish Citylink express work, mainly on the Glasgow to Edinburgh corridor.
Stagecoach West Scotland had faced sustained competition from the First Group between Ardrossan and Kilmarnock since Stagecoach launched its network of Glasgow city services in the heart of First's Glasgow operating territory in 1997, though First withdrew from Ayrshire in October 2005 leaving Stagecoach the sole dominant operator once again. While minor competition existed for several years from T & E Docherty around Irvine, Stagecoach has since purchased the routes and vehicles used by that operator. Minor competition exists from Shuttle Buses between Irvine and West Kilbride (including local operation around Ardrossan and Saltcoats) and McGill's Bus Services between Largs and Greenock.
The company has depots in Brodick(Isle of Arran), Ardrossan, Kilmarnock, Ayr, Cumnock, Glasgow, Stranraer, Dumfries.
At both the 2005 and 2006 UK Bus Awards, Stagecoach West Scotland took the top award of 'UK Bus Operator of the Year', having narrowly missed out on the prize in 2004. It also received the 'Best Large Fleet Operator' award at the industry ceremony for both years .
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