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January 2004 GGPTE 30th Anniversary In  1973, the Greater Glasgow Passenger Transport Executive was established to coordinate public transport in the newly formed Strathclyde Region.   It also inherited a bus company (which was nice) namely Glasgow Corporation.   After careful consideration the PTE decided to rename the company after itself, thus GGPTE was born.   Smart Overalls Glasgow was famous for its overall advert buses with almost 20 on the streets at any time.   Who could forget the ads for Agnews Stores, Maryhill Carpets or the intriguingly named Escariot Male Boutique ?  Two of the most eye-catching were those for the Citizens Theatre (middle) and Cameron & Campbell Renault (right) Public Image During its formative years the PTE introduced some radical concepts.   They attempted to present an integrated transport solution to a largely oblivious ridership.   They chose the name "Trans-Clyde" to promote this integration of train, subway and bus services (left).   However what the public did notice was "Freddie Fast Fare" - the bain of every Glaswegian's life.   The PTE adopted a no-change philosophy and the passengers in return adopted a no-smile philosophy.   When the Glasgow boundary was abolished with the 1980 Transport Act, suddenly people could travel on Scottish Bus Group vehicles for local journeys - and they gave change.   The PTE however never relented.   Liveries GGPTE modified the layout of the Glasgow Corporation livery, painting the vehicles in a much breezier version of green and yellow, supplemented by copious amounts of bright white.   It was a positive image for the somewhat negative times of the 1970s (above left).   However the PTE liked to dabble, so it began to experiment with variations, reducing the white to a single band (upper right) and eventually replacing it altogether with fashionable 1980's black (lower right).   After the golden era of GGPTE came the stark orange nightmare of Strathclyde PTE and the enveloping purple haze of First. Single Deckers In common with other PTE companies Glasgow did not operate many single deckers in the 1970s.   It inherited unusual Alexander bodied Leyland Panthers from the Corporation, some of which it converted to dual-purpose vehicles (top left).   The PTE bought and operated more conventional coaches in the shape of Duple bodied Leopards (middle left) which were used for private hire and on express services.  It bought a small batch of Leyland Nationals new in 1978 which spent most of their time in the east end of the city (lower left).   Further unusual single deckers arrived in the shape of second-hand baby Seddons from Manchester, which were used on the station link service (right). Life after Atlanteans GGPTE was one of the largest operators of Leyland Atlanteans in the country.   Nearly 1500 were delivered and when the final ones arrived in 1982 the hunt was on for its replacement.   Small batches of Metrobuses (left) and Olympians (right) were bought until the PTE settled on the familiar Volvo Citybus. Dual-Door Although Glasgow had many Atlanteans, they were early supporters of the locally produced Volvo Ailsa (left).   Many of the Atlanteans were delivered in two-door configuration.   However apparently the Glasgow public had difficulty understanding the centre door principle (admittedly tricky after 10 pints of McEwans and a kebab supper).   So over 300 vehicles were converted to single door arrangement (right).   Where did all those centre doors go ?  GGPTE   Click to enlarge photos. Some photos may not be up to the usual standard as they were taken with an instamatic camera.   Photo Facts (from top to bottom) The large fleet of Leyland PD3s that GGPTE inherited were soon withdrawn, and many went into the driving school, such as these seen at Knightswood depot in January 1976. A small fleet of Metropolitans used to prowl round the streets of Glasgow.   A very shiny M24 (JUS744N) is seen in Union St in July 1975. Citizens Theatre overall advert Atlantean LA439 (PYS967G) at the top of Buchanan St (now pedestrianised) in July 1976.   Amazingly this vehicle was withdrawn in 1979 when just over 10 years old. Cameron & Campbell overall advert Atlantean LA391 (MUS276F) at Knightswood depot in January 1976. A classic panoramic windowed Alexander bodied Leyland Atlantean LA1345 (LSU402V) in original GGPTE livery behind Lewis's in August 1980. Atlantean LA818 (SGD711N) at St. Enochs bus station in May 1981. Atlantean LA1410 (RDS599W) at St. Enochs bus station in May 1981. On its farewell tour in the High St, Leyland Panther PYS999G on a suitably wet day in July 1978. During the peak years of express services in the early 1980s the PTE would regularly supply vehicles to Western for their cross border summer Saturday journeys.   Duple/Leopard OGD659V is seen at Buchanan bus station in July 1980 preparing to depart on the (980) service to Southport. Leyland National LN8 (GGE163T) at Parkhead depot in August 1983. Seddon S1 (XBN976L) at Queen St station on the station link service in July 1979. Looking rather smart, MCW Metrobus II MB32 (MUS310Y) at the top of Hope St. in April 1983. Same place, same route, same day: ECW-bodied Olympian LO16 (CGG839X). Seen at Larkfield depot in July 1983 is Volvo Ailsa AV1 (GGG300N). Atlantean LA720 (NGB88M) in Union St in June 1980.   Note the Trans-Clyde names and the metallic-style fleet number plate.   GGPTE History Date Event 1973 GGPTE assumes control from Glasgow Corporation 1975 GGPTE becomes Strathclyde PTE (although buses still displayed "GG" logo) 1983 Strathclyde Transport names and orange livery adopted 1986 Strathclyde's Buses born 1993 Strathclyde's Buses sold to management 1996 First Group buys SB Holdings (as it was now known)    Overall Adverts Vehicle Livery LA230 (CYS576B) Barclaycard LA284 (DGE321C) Busy Bee LA300 (DGE337C) Crazy House LA302 (DGE339C) M&W LA381 (MUS266F) Transcard LA391 (MUS276F) Cameron & Campbell LA404 (MUS289F) Agnews Stores LA425 (PYS953G) Savoy Centre LA429 (PYS957G) Nursing LA439 (PYS967G) Citizens Theatre LA442 (PYS970G) Maryhill Carpets LA476 (UGA229H) Donald H. Milne LA480 (UGA233H) Escariot Male Boutique LA489 (UGA242H) Blaze's LA636 (FUS156L) Maryhill Carpets LA739 (NGB107M) Transrail LA850 (SGA733N) Carlsberg LA995 (KSU871P) Transcard   Links First Glasgow is the spiritual successor of GGPTE and Glasgow Corporation http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/scotland/swscot/home/ Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust http://www.gvvt.org

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