MV Cowal in 1954. She inaugurated the regular Wemyss Bay to Rothesay car ferry service, on 1 October 1954 and remained in the upper Clyde for her whole career. From 1957 the three "A, B, C" sisters were working interchangeably. In May 1970, "Cowal" inaugurated a short-lived seasonal Fairlie-Tarbert-Brodick service. When this ended in September 1971, "Cowal" operated between Largs and Millport, until displaced in March 1972 by the former Skye ferry on the quicker Largs to Cumbrae Slip run. With linkspans at Gourock and Dunoon, the hoist-loading "Bute" and "Cowal" were restricted to the Wemyss Bay to Rothesay crossing, where "Cowal"
Highland Scottish November 1989. After a brief interval, the assets and services of Inverness Traction were purchased by the Stagecoach Group. Highland, perhaps aware it could not sustain competition against a national operator with a reputation for swift and successful competition, scaled down the level of service against the new operator. Soon after, Stagecoach would purchase the Inverness and Tain operations of Highland Scottish and become the dominant operator of Inverness area services. In August 1991, Highland Scottish was sold to a consortium made up of Rapson's Coaches, a coach operator based near Inverness, and recently privatised Scottish Citylink, for £800k. In