Glasgow Buses

For more than a century, Glasgow’s buses have been part of the city’s heartbeat, from the green/cream ‘Corpy’ days, to the multi-coloured private operator buses serving the city today.

These Photographs were taken at the Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust’s Bridgeton Garage. The FirstBus and McGill’s buses were photographed at the Buchanan Street Bus Station, Glasgow.

Glasgow’s Buses from 1924

Glasgow Corporation Transport (GCT)

Glasgow Corporation old livery Livery: Glasgow buses from 1924 were intitially dark red/cream, then changed in the 1930s to a pale cream on the main body with medium-green trim/upper panels and narrow green/cream striping. This image was AI generated, so I am unable to confirm from sources that this was how the livery looked in that period.

Glasgow Corporation livery Livery: 1949 (although there were variations before that year), orange/ochre lower panels, cream upper/deck areas, with green used on the higher panels and roof.

1924: 8th of December, the start of Glasgow Corporation motorbus services. Motorbuses were introduced as feeders to the tram network. Buses were initially based at Parkhead tram depot.
1924 to 1939: Early single deck and small double deck vehicles formed the first fleet, including the Leyland Titan TD1s, Leyland Titans, AEC, Thornycroft and Dennis.
1930s to 1940s: AEC Regent (early Regents), Leyland Titan (PD/TD series), Daimler and other UK double deck chassis. Local bodybuilders such as Cowieson and Alexander provided bodies.
1949: Trolleybuses were introduced alongside motorbuses. Glasgow ran a large municipal trolleybus network from 1949 to 27 May 1967 and were replaced by motorbuses on the trolleybus routes.
1949 to 1967: Glasgow operated Leyland Titan PD2/PD3 types, AEC Regents and other post-war double deckers.
1958: Rear-engined buses were introduced. Large numbers of Leyland Atlanteans which were bodied by Alexander and many badged Albion Leylands ontinued to be used as well as Leyland Titan PD types and AEC types, until withdrawal. Municipal single deckers and some Daimler types were retained.

Leyland Titan PD1 1928 Leyland Titan PD1 (1928): © VintageBuses.org — Creative Commons BY 4.0

Leyland Titan PD3/2 (1960): © VintageBuses.org — Creative Commons BY 4.0

AEC Regent V Glasgow bus AEC Regent V (1961): © VintageBuses.org — Creative Commons BY 4.0

Greater Glasgow Passenger Transport Executive (GGPTE)

Glasgow GGPTE livery Livery: A reworking of the ‘Corpy’ colours, commonly described as verona green on lower panels, yellow between decks, white for window surrounds and roof. A stylised “GG” logo was applied to the forward yellow panels.

1973: As UK/local transport legislation changed (PTEs), Glasgow’s municipal transport functions were transferred to a regional body: the Greater Glasgow Passenger Transport Executive (GGPTE) was formed in the early 1970s to take over the municipal public transport functions (including the bus fleet) from Glasgow Corporation. GGPTE operated and coordinated bus services across the Greater Glasgow area. It retained and repainted much of the existing municipal fleet and introduced PTE-style branding and livery changes. GGPTE also coordinated suburban rail and underground services in the area.

Leyland Atlanteans 1966 and 1975 Leyland Atlanteans left: PDR1/1 (1966), right: AN68/1R (1975) © VintageBuses.org — Creative Commons BY 4.0

Glasgow Corporation buses alongside Greater Glasgow buses: © VintageBuses.org — Creative Commons BY 4.0

Trans-Clyde Buses

Trans Clyde livery Livery: The ‘Corpy’ colours were used again, verona green on lower panels, yellow between decks, white for window surrounds and roof. ‘Trans-Clyde’ logo was applied to the forward yellow panels.

1974 to 1975: Trans-Clyde brand launched to integrate bus, rail, and subway under one name.
1977: Glasgow Subway closed for total modernisation; Trans-Clyde oversees project.
1979 to 1980: Subway reopens with new orange trains, station interiors, and corporate signage, but still under Trans-Clyde.
1983: Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive (SPTE) replaces GGPTE; Trans-Clyde brand retired.

Greater Glasgow buses and a Trans-Clyde bus: © VintageBuses.org — Creative Commons BY 4.0

Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive (SPTE)

Strathclyde PTE livery Livery: Main colour: Bright orange/red, officially known as ‘Strathclyde Red’. Lower panels: Black, covering the skirt and lower body sections. Upper panels & roof: Cream, with a narrow orange relief band between the black and cream areas.

1973 to 1986: The Greater Glasgow/Strathclyde PTE (SPTE) era. GGPTE was integrated under the wider Strathclyde Passenger Transport arrangements as local government boundaries changed; the PTE/Authority coordinated services across the region. Fleet were renewed and new types of buses introduced.

Strathclyde Buses

October 1986: The Transport Act deregulation came into force in October 1986. To comply with deregulation, the PTE’s bus operations were formed into a separate commercial company called Strathclyde Buses. At creation the company inherited 740 buses and the depots. Strathclyde Buses’ fleet was heavily Atlantean/Ailsa-based and later received new Volvos/MCW Metrobuses and MCW Metrider minibuses.
1993: Strathclyde Buses was privatised via a employee/management buyout in 1993 and the Scottish bus market saw consolidation & competition. Fleet modernisation continued as the company adapted to a competitive marketplace.

Red and Orange Glasgow buses The orange Greater Glasgow/Strathclyde ‘Red’ buses, with one actual red bus: © VintageBuses.org — Creative Commons BY 4.0

First Glasgow (FirstBus)

FirstBus Glasgow Livery: The dominant colour of the livery is purple, used across most of the bus body, particularly the lower half and sides. White is used for the upper part of the bus, including the roof and often around the windows.

May 1996: FirstBus purchased SB Holdings (Strathclyde Buses), forming First Glasgow. The takeover was referred to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission (MMC) for competition review and later cleared. FirstGroup then modernised and standardised fleets under First branding and they inherited Leyland Atlanteans and Volvos which were gradually replaced by modern low-floor and low-emission double deckers and single deckers through the 2000s, e.g. the Volvo B7TL / B9TL with Wright bodies, Wright/Eclipse Gemini, Scania/Wright single deckers.
2000s to present: First Glasgow era; modern low-floor fleets and mixed operators. First Glasgow (FirstGroup) became the major operator; SPT (Strathclyde Partnership for Transport) became a subsidy infrastructure authority looking after sites like the Buchanan Bus Station. Fleet modernisation introduced low-floor accessibility, new diesel/Euro emissions standards and later hybrid/electric trials across UK operators.

FirstBus Glasgow 9a BYD D8UR-DD/Alexander Dennis Enviro400EV electric bus (2021): © VintageBuses.org — Creative Commons BY 4.0
No.9a entering Buchanan St Bus Station, Glasgow.

McGill’s Buses in Glasgow

McGill's Buses livery Livery: Dark blue with white and silver relief (previously navy and light blue). Logo: Bold sans-serif “McGill’s” in white, underline stripe; tagline “Proud to serve the West of Scotland.”

McGill’s Buses has become a major player in Glasgow, second only to FirstBus and holds 30% of Glasgow’s local services. McGill’s is the largest independent private operator in Scotland and is one of the top 5 in the UK.

March 2012: McGill’s acquires Arriva Scotland West, gaining depots at Johnstone, Inchinnan & Barrhead and expanding into Glasgow’s western suburbs.
2013: Consolidates new routes into Glasgow city centre, focusing on Paisley Road West and Govan routes.
2015: Introduces full low-floor accessible fleet and launches contactless ticketing and app payments.
2018: Upgrades core Renfrewshire/Glasgow routes and begins competing directly with First Glasgow on overlapping services.
September 2021: Purchases First Scotland East Ltd and First Glasgow (Clyde) operations, adding Dumbarton, Larbert & Livingston depots (+ 360 buses).
2021: – McGill’s re-enters central & eastern Glasgow, launching city-only routes 38, 38A/B/C/E, 23, 26 and 90.
June 2022: Deploys first Yutong E12 electric buses in Glasgow, marking start of zero-emission fleet transition.
2023: Rolls out refreshed blue-white-silver livery and “McGill’s Glasgow” branding; continues major depot electrification.
2024: Expands electric fleet to more than 250 vehicles, securing SPT Clyde Zero funding for clean-air routes.

McGills X23 leaving Buchanan St Bus Station Mercedes-Benz Citaro 0295N (2014): © VintageBuses.org — Creative Commons BY 4.0
McGill’s X23 service leaving Buchanan Street Bus Station, Glasgow.