stops gave Kelvin a competitive advantage over Strathclyde Buses' slower one-person-operated services. Some cross-city routes were operated jointly with Clydeside Scottish, and a number of new services were started on city routes which had not hitherto been served by the Scottish Bus Group. Another competitive tactic was the introduction of minibus services in the north of Glasgow, providing services into city centre at a much higher frequency than would have been viable using full-sized buses. In response Strathclyde Buses extended many of its city services not just into the peripheral parts of the city traditionally served by Kelvin, but also beyond the city boundary and deep into SBG territory, including the towns of Clydebank, Milngavie, Kirkintilloch and Cumbernauld. Immediately after deregulation the 'bus war' between SBG and Strathclyde Buses, together with some independent operators such as Magic Bus, saw a major increase in the number of buses serving the city centre. However the situation was not sustainable as there were not enough passengers to make so many competing services viable, and ultimately Strathclyde Buses prevailed. In 1987 Kelvin made a reported loss of £3 million, leading to the closure of the depot at Milngavie. Many of the competing routes introduced in 1986 were withdrawn in July 1987, and 70 vehicles were taken out of service, including some Routemasters and the majority of the new minibuses. By early 1988 the fleet had been reduced by more than a third, and Kilsyth depot also closed in 1988 as an economy measure. In July 1989, it was announced that SBG was to be privatised. In an effort to make Kelvin Scottish more attractive to prospective buyers, Kelvin was merged with the more profitable Central Scottish to form Kelvin Central Buses Ltd. Upon the merger, Kelvin Scottish ceased trading as a stand-alone subsidiary. However, the merger involved harmonising conditions of service for employees, and whereas Kelvin had already had to impose new terms and conditions on its staff as a result of its financial problems, the changes were extremely unpopular with Central employees. Following the dismissal of four shop stewards a prolonged strike by 700 of the companies' drivers took place during 1989, which further weakened the finances of the Kelvin Central company and brought about further service cuts and the closure of the former Central depots at East Kilbride and Wishaw. Subsequent history Following the privatisation of Scottish Bus Group in 1991, Kelvin