First South East & Central Scotland, formerly known as First Scotland East, was an operator of both local and regional bus services in Clackmannanshire, East Dunbartonshire,
East Lothian
East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921.
In 1975, the histo ...
,
Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
,
Fife
Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...
,
Midlothian
Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh, ...
Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothi ...
West Lothian
West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its shires of Scotland, historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geogra ...
, as well as the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland. It was a subsidiary of FirstGroup, which operates bus, rail and tram services across the United Kingdom and Ireland.
First South East and Central Scotland was acquired by
McGill's Bus Services
McGill's Bus Services is a bus operator based in Greenock, Scotland.
History
In 1997, the merger of three subsidiaries took place, with Eastern Scottish, Lowland Scottish and Midland Scottish becoming First Edinburgh, which broadly aligns with the original Scottish Motor Traction area. Following the merger; operations were simplified. Some areas, including Midlothian and West Lothian were formerly served by at least two out of the three subsidiaries. Despite the name, the company served a much larger area, covering much of Central Scotland and the Scottish Borders, as well as Cumbria and Northumberland, England. In 2008, the company was renamed First Scotland East – better reflecting the operating area.
In 1999, some operations were transferred to the company's Larbert depot, with a new corporate livery introduced across the fleet. By 2002, all of the company's operations were controlled by Larbert.
In 2000, the company was split into two, operating as First Edinburgh and First Midland Bluebird.
Fife First
In 1997, the company launched the Fife First brand, in order to compete with Stagecoach Fife – who had recently started competing with First's Glasgow operations. Competition took place, with service 56 (from Edinburgh to
Dunfermline
Dunfermline (; sco, Dunfaurlin, gd, Dùn Phà rlain) is a city, parish and former Royal Burgh, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city currently has an estimated population of 58,508. Accord ...
Rider York
First York operates local bus services, with a network centring around the cathedral city of York, North Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup, which operates bus, rail and tram services across the United Kingdom and Ireland.
His ...
, and painted in allover red. A sub-depot was established in
Dunfermline
Dunfermline (; sco, Dunfaurlin, gd, Dùn Phà rlain) is a city, parish and former Royal Burgh, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city currently has an estimated population of 58,508. Accord ...
, with Westfield providing most of the vehicles used. ''Fife First'' ceased in July 2000, when the service was axed, and low-floor buses used were transferred to the
Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
area.
ScotRail
In June 2004, the
ScotRail
ScotRail Trains Limited, trading as ScotRail ( gd, Rèile na h-Alba), is a Scottish train operating company that is publicly owned by Scottish Rail Holdings on behalf of the Scottish Government. It has been operating the ScotRail franchise a ...
franchise was awarded to First, with the services transferring to First ScotRail in October 2004. The Competition Commission placed a number of controls and undertaking, which had an effect on the company's ability to raise fares, and alter a selected number of services. In 2009 and 2012, First were released from a number of routes which were controlled.
Restructure
In June 2012, the company closed their depot in
Dalkeith
Dalkeith ( ; gd, Dail Cheith, IPA: ˆt̪alˈçe is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1540. The settlement of Dalkeith grew southwestwards from its 12th-cent ...
, whilst scaling back
Musselburgh
Musselburgh (; sco, Musselburrae; gd, Baile nam Feusgan) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It has a population of .
History
The name Musselburgh is Ol ...
-based operations. In November 2012, the company's Linlithgow depot was closed, with operations transferred to Larbert and Livingston depots.
In June 2013, route X38 (from Edinburgh to
Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
and Stirling) was re-branded as ''First Bluebird'', with buses painted in a dedicated blue livery. Within a year, most of the buses operating in the
Forth Valley
The River Forth is a major river in central Scotland, long, which drains into the North Sea on the east coast of the country. Its drainage basin covers much of Stirlingshire in Scotland's Central Belt. The Gaelic name for the upper reach of th ...
area were also re-branded as ''First Bluebird''.
First tried to improve passenger growth, with a number of revised networks in
Falkirk
Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a ...
and
West Lothian
West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its shires of Scotland, historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geogra ...
, during 2012. In January 2015, First withdrew over a dozen bus routes in and around Falkirk, citing that routes had been operating at a "considerable loss" for many years.
The company made a request to the Competition and Markets Authority in October 2015, about reviewing of the undertakings given in 2002 by First. The undertakings were given following the
Monopolies & Mergers Commission
The Competition Commission was a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under competition law in the United Kingdom. It was a competition regulator under t ...
's conclusion that the completed acquisition by First of SB Holdings Limited, which took place in 1996, created a merger situation which may be expected to operate against the public interest.
As part of the undertaking, the company had mileage floor which required to them to operate a specific number of miles, regardless of the circumstances. In April 2015, the company was released from the undertaking with all requirements dropped.
In May 2016, the company announced that it would cease operations in East Lothian, with the closure of Musselburgh and North Berwick depots – affecting a total of 88 jobs. In August 2016, staff and operations were transferred to Lothian Buses.
In 2016,
Perryman's Buses
Borders Buses operates both local and regional bus services in the City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian and Scottish Borders, Scotland, as well as Cumbria and Northumberland, England. It is a subsidiary of West Coast Motors.
History
The ...
took over several services from First Scotland East. The company's remaining operations in Scottish Borders, including the depot at Galashiels, as well as outstations at Hawick, Kelso and Peebles, were sold to the company in March 2017. The (at the time) recent reopening of the Borders Railway between Edinburgh and Tweedbank was cited as one of the main reasons for the sale.
In May 2017, the company announced plans to bring "significant improvements" to their services. This resulted in the introduction of 7,000 miles of additional journeys and six vehicles to the network in West Lothian, as well as the reintroduction of a direct link between Bathgate and Gyle Centre via Livingston and Edinburgh Airport.
Acquisition by McGill's Bus Services
On 6 September 2022, it was announced that First Scotland East had been acquired by
McGill's Bus Services
McGill's Bus Services is a bus operator based in Greenock, Scotland.open top bus operation in Edinburgh, were all transferred under McGill's ownership.
Controversies
Edinburgh Bus War
Between March 2000 and July 2002, First Scotland East sought to increase their market share of local bus services in and around the city of Edinburgh. As a result, a bus war sparked between FirstGroup and Lothian Buses, with fares cut, additional vehicles drafted in, routes diverted and timetables altered.
Lothian Buses complained to the
Office of Fair Trading
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) was a non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforced both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the United Kingdom's economic ...
, claiming that FirstGroup was engaging in anti-competitive behaviour, in an effort to become the dominant operator in Edinburgh. However, it was later ruled by the Office of Fair Trading that FirstGroup's conduct represented "legitimate competition".
Despite this, following the ruling, First Scotland East curtailed their network of services in Edinburgh, bringing an end to the bus war. Heavy losses were made, which resulted in cutbacks in many parts of their operations.
Public inquiries
First Scotland East had appeared before the Traffic Commissioner on five occasions. Public inquiries were held regarding vehicle maintenance (2004, 2005 & 2008) and timekeeping (2008 & 2010).
In November 2011, a formal warning was issued regarding vehicle maintenance. In August 2012, the company appeared for the fifth time in front of the Traffic Commissioner, due to further issues regarding services in and around Falkirk.
In November 2013, a further hearing took place in front of the Deputy Traffic Commissioner, following an incident in March that year in which a vehicle lost its wheel in Edinburgh.
As of the company's takeover in September 2022, the First Scotland East fleet consisted of 257 buses. The fleet consisted mainly of diesel-powered single and double-deck buses manufactured by Alexander Dennis, Scania, Volvo and Wrightbus.