West Coast Motors

History

The founding of the company dates back to 1923 when Jack Craig commenced a bus operation in Campbeltown. In 1935 William Craig convinced the Royal Mail to allow him to commence an overnight road service from Campbeltown to Glasgow in lieu of transporting mail by ship. West Coast Motors would remain a Royal Mail contractor until October 2011.

In 1950 the business of Dickies of Tarbert was purchased with the service between East and West Loch Tarbert piers. In 1955 haulage company West Coasts Transport was formed. After purchasing James McPhee Haulage and Ramsays Haulage in 1963, the business was sold to the British Road Services in 1966.

In 1970 the McConnachies business was purchased resulting in West Coast operating all Kintyre services. In 1982 McColls of Benderloch was purchased with the Oban to Benderloch and Easdale services. In 1986 Stag Garage of Lochgilphead was purchased with services to Ford, Kilmartin and Ormsary. In 1999 the Oban & District Buses business was purchased.

In 2004 West Coast commenced operating in Bute and Cowal taking over services from Stagecoach with depots in Dunoon and Rothesay. In 2006 the Oban to Dalavich service was purchased from LF Stewart & Son Limited and Kilberry and Skipness services from D&E Henderson Hiring. Also purchased in 2006 was Glasgow Citybus.

In January 2008 the City Sightseeing franchise in Glasgow was purchased followed in 2009 by the Kintyre Express ferry operation. In 2011 Kintyre Express commenced operating a ferry service from Campbeltown to Ballycastle.

In June 2013 Bowman's Tourson the Isle of Mull was purchased with 10 vehicles and renamed West Coast Tours followed in November 2013 by Fairline Coaches, Glasgow with 16 vehicles.

In February 2016, Perryman's Buses of Berwick-upon-Tweed was purchased with 45 vehicles. Perryman's operates a network of bus, coach and tour services across the Scottish Borders and in North Northumberland. It began operation in 1972 as a family-run taxi business in Burnmouth before expanding into local bus operation and moving its base to Berwick-upon-Tweed. In 2013 the then-independent company opened a second depot in St Boswells following the winning of tenders for a number of routes previously operated by Munro's of Jedburgh. Shortly after West Coast Motors acquired Perryman's, it took over several services from First Scotland East.

Fleet

As at November 2013, West Coast operates a fleet of 191 buses and coaches.

Citylink

Aside from the local stage carriage, West Coast Motors has since 1986 run express services on behalf of Citylink, predominantly on the Campbeltown to Glasgow service, but also on routes serving Oban, Dundee, Edinburgh, Fort William, Inverness and the Isle of Skye. In May 2008 the company refused to sign a new contract to operate Citylink routes in the Highlands, and launched a series of routes in competition with Citylink. Two months later the services were withdrawn and a new contract signed which saw West Coast Motors resume Citylink operation in September 2008.

As of January 2014, West Coast Motors operates buses on the following Citylink routes:

Depots

As well as the Campbeltown headquarters, the company has depots in Ardrishaig, Oban, Dunoon, Rothesay, Glasgow, Galashiels, Berwick-Upon-Tweed and St Boswells