The company would have a turbulent infancy, however, as Strathtay Scottish faced very heavy competition from local Perth-based firm, Stagecoach. Strathtay Scottish purchased a number of ex-London Transport AEC Routemaster buses to counter the competition, which also used a number of the same vehicle type on city services in Perth. A new "Perth City Transport" brand was created by Strathtay Scottish to compete with Stagecoach, using a mainly red livery with white. But as Stagecoach grew nationally it became financially stronger and had ready access to vehicles from the larger companies in England it had purchased. Strathtay's managing director, Neil Renilson, moved to Stagecoach in 1989. Strathtay Scottish could not sustain the level of intense competition that ensued, and in 1993 it closed its Perth depot. Crieff and Pitlochry also closed, and the company withdrew from the majority of services around these towns.