Scottish Motor Traction

Scottish Motor Traction (SMT) was founded in Edinburgh in 1905. It operated buses in much of central Scotland. Aside from its traditional bus operations, it operated an air taxi service with a De Havilland Fox Moth between 18 July and 31 October 1932 and for many years owned Dryburgh Abbey Hotel. Following legislation, which allowed railway companies to invest in bus operators, the London & North Eastern Railway and London, Midland & Scottish Railway took a major stake in SMT in 1929. In 1930, following the takeover of another operator, SMT started its Edinburgh to London express coach service. SMT also acquired control of Walter Alexander & Sons bus services and coachbuilding operations, the Alexander family joining the SMT board.

SMT grew partly through the acquisition of smaller companies. Operations were decentralised to local areas, such as Central SMT in Lanarkshire, and Western SMT in south-west Scotland (both with red buses), whilst the east of Scotland services operated as SMT (with green buses). Upon nationalisation of the SMT group's bus and coach services by the Attlee government in 1949, those of SMT itself were transferred to a new British Transport Commission subsidiary, Scottish Omnibuses Limited, which continued to operate as "SMT" until the early 1960s, when the fleet name "Eastern Scottish" was adopted. Meanwhile, the non bus operating activities remained in private hands as SMT Sales & Service Limited.

Following the demise of the British Transport Commission, the SMT operations became part of the state-owned Scottish Bus Group in 1962; this later became the Scottish Transport Group in 1969 following the addition of ferry services.

The Transport Act 1985 led to the deregulation of bus services across the United Kingdom, followed by privatisation of the bus-operating Scottish Transport Group subsidiaries. Western Scottish (formerly Western SMT) was sold to its local management in 1991, and was bought out by the Stagecoach Group in 1994, which renamed it Stagecoach West Scotland. The ferry services, run as Caledonian MacBrayne remain owned by the Scottish Government.

Following privatisation, Eastern Scottish briefly reverted to its former name SMT. It was bought out by GRT Group in October 1994.

In June 1995 GRT Group and Badgerline merged to create First Bus. Soon after this, SMT was split into two, with operations passing to neighbouring Lowland and Midland Bluebird, although the SMT name and livery were initially retained. In 1999 the former SMT operations, along with those of Lowland and Midland Bluebird, were rebranded as First Edinburgh.

See also

• See Scottish Bus Group for the list of prefixes to the "Scottish" branding.

v t e Former bus companies of the United Kingdom
National	Associated Motorways Blazefield Holdings British Bus British Coachways British Electric Traction Fraser Eagle GRT Group National Bus Company Thomas Tilling
England	v t e Former bus companies operating in England North West England Avon Buses Birkenhead Transport Blackburn Transport Blue Bus & Coach Services Bluebird Bus & Coach Bu-Val Buses ChesterBus Citibus Tours Crosville Motor Services Finglands Coachways First Chester & The Wirral GHA Coaches Glenvale Transport GM Buses John Fishwick & Sons JPT Lancashire United Transport Maynes Bus Maytree Travel MTL North Western Road Car Company (1923) North Western Road Car Company (1986) Pennine Blue Red & White Services Ribble Motor Services Speedwellbus Transdev Northern Blue UK North Yelloway Motor Services North East England Black Prince Buses BrightBus Busways Travel Services Durham Travel Services Geldards Coaches Jolly Bus Mexborough and Swinton Traction Company Northern General Transport Company OK Motor Services Samuel Ledgard South Yorkshire Transport Tates Travel United Automobile Services Venture Transport West Riding Automobile Company West Yorkshire Road Car Company Yorkshire Rider Yorkshire Terrier Yorkshire Traction Midlands A2Z Travel Barton Transport Birmingham City Transport Birmingham Motor Traction Central Buses Chase Coaches First Northampton Glossopdale Bus Company Go West Midlands Ludlows North Birmingham Busways People's Express Premiere Travel Probus Management South Notts Bus Company Stevensons of Uttoxeter Travel Merry Hill Travel Your Bus Wesley Coaches Zak's Buses Eastern England Anglian Bus Carters Coach Services Eastern National Omnibus Company MK Metro TWH Bus & Coach South West England Badgerline Bristol Omnibus Company Crosville Motor Services Devon General Greyhound Motors Great Western Railway Hants & Dorset Nippy Bus Shamrock Buses Southern National Sureline Trathens Travel Services Truronian WebberBus Wessex Bus Western Greyhound Western National South East England Alder Valley Aldershot & District Traction Badger Vectis Boro'line Maidstone Brijan Tours Bygone Buses Cavendish Motor Services Centra City Clipper Countryliner East Kent Road Car Company Epsom Coaches Invictaway Kent Top Travel Maidstone & District Motor Services Maidstone Corporation Transport Marchwood Motorways Moss Motor Tours New Enterprise Coaches Portsmouth Corporation Transport Shamrock Buses Southampton Citybus Southdown Motor Services Thames Transit Thames Valley Traction Tillingbourne Bus Company Velvet Yellow Bus Services Greater London Bexleybus Birch Brothers Boro'line London Capital Citybus Capital Logistics Connex East Thames Buses First London Grey-Green Harris Bus Imperial Buses London Buslines London Country Bus Services London Country North East London Country North West London Country South East London Country South West London Easylink London Electrobus Company London Forest London Pride Sightseeing London Traveller MTL NSL Buses Thorpes Travel London Travel Surrey Westlink
Scotland	v t e Former bus companies operating in Scotland Scottish Bus Group Central Scottish Clydeside Scottish Eastern Scottish Highland Scottish Kelvin Central Buses Kelvin Scottish Lowland Scottish Midland Scottish Northern Scottish Western Scottish Other operators Arriva Scotland West A1 Service Dart Buses First Stop Travel Gibson's of Moffat McKindless Munro's of Jedburgh Oban and District Scottish Motor Traction Strathclyde Buses Western SMT
Wales	v t e Former bus companies operating in Wales Companies Crosville Motor Services Express Motors GHA Coaches Islwyn Borough Transport National Welsh Omnibus Services Padarn Bus Red & White Services Rhondda Transport Company South Wales Transport Western Welsh

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