Strathtay Scottish Buses

Strathtay Scottish was a product of the state-owned Scottish Bus Groups' attempts to prepare for deregulation and possible privatisation in the mid-1980s. It combined a part of Midland Scottish, based around Perthshire with a part of Northern Scottish based in Dundee and Angus. The Strathtay management tried to buy the company during the privatisation of the Scottish Bus Group, but were ultimately unsuccessful. The winner was The Yorkshire Traction Company based in Barnsley, and this was indeed the only case of a non-Scottish based company gaining a part of the Scottish Bus Group. Ultimately Stagecoach would force the company to abandon Perth, and eventually the Yorkshire Traction Group would itself be taken over by Stagecoach. An interesting tale of expansion, contraction and ultimately oblivion, combined with some fascinating pictures.