by National Express for £1.8m. Highland Bus & Coach, being the smaller of the two operators, continued to operate with the image its predecessor adopted. The two companies continued to exist under separate ownership until August 1998 when Rapson's bought Highland Country Buses back from National Express for £4m - £2.2m more than Rapson's originally sold the company for. Highland Country Buses is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Rapson's Coaches, and covers the operating area that Highland Scottish had on privatisation. The company has adopted a 'corporate look', sharing the two-tone blue with silver trim livery that Rapson's Coaches used, with the addition of the large golden eagle logo at the rear of the vehicle. While regular bus services trade as Highland Country, longer distance, express and private contract work operate under the Rapson's name. In March 2005, Rapson's completed its take over of the Orkney Islands bus market with the acquisition of four separate bus companies on the islands, including the largest, James D. Peace & Shalder Coaches. The Orcadian operation trades as Orkney Coaches and remains a separate subsidiary to Highland. All operations are now part of the Stagecoach Group. See also List of bus operators of the United Kingdom References External links Competition Commission report on Highland Scottish/Inverness Traction situation Rapson's Coaches website (including Highland Country Buses) Stagecoach in Inverness website Former bus operators in Scotland Transport in Highland (council area) Defunct companies of Scotland