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Transport and travel overview

Active, sustainable travel is good for population health and for the environment. If people walk, cycle and use public transport more and drive less, road-transport-related carbon emissions will reduce and there will be health benefits from reduced air and noise pollution, and increased physical activity. Public health leaders, policy makers and politicians have highlighted the importance of greater investment in sustainable, integrated transport to promote active travel, to create safe, attractive communities, to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality. 

Infographic.

Click here to download the Transport infographic.

  • The number of licensed motorised vehicles in Scotland has more than doubled from 1.3 million in 1975 to over three million in 2021 (a rise of 135%).
  • Glasgow has the largest traffic volume in Glasgow City Region.
  • 46% of Glasgow households don't have access to a car, compared with 29% nationally.
  • 38% of Glaswegians commuted to work by car (as driver or passenger) in 2022, 14% by public transport (by bus or train) and 11% walked or cycled.
  • Trips into and out of the city centre by bike have increased by 165% between 2009 and 2021 [an average increase of 14% annually], while pedestrian trips into the city centre increased by 19% [2% annually] in the period 2009-2018, but dropped sharply during the pandemic and have not fully recovered since then (Cordon Count Survey, 2021).
  • In 2023, 54% of school children in the city travelled to school by active means, including walking and cycling. 
  • Casualty rates from all road traffic accidents have fallen by 57% between 1997-2001 and 2015-2019. The rate of casualties being killed or seriously injured has fallen by 64% in the same period.
  • In Glasgow, rates of hospital admissions for adults after road-traffic accidents have been consistently higher for more deprived groups compared to less deprived groups. 
  • The rate of cyclists being admitted to hospital has risen in recent years (and is now slightly greater than that for pedestrians) despite decreases for pedestrians and other road users.

This section presents data analyses from a number of data sources to provide information on travel behaviour and transport in Glasgow, in order to highlight positive and negative trends and to help identify future priorities for action.

The data on the Understanding Glasgow website comes from a variety of administrative sources and surveys, and the frequency of updates to these sources varies. The graphs and text on each page should indicate the period to which an indicator refers. In some cases, where more recently published data is not available, we still use older published sources, such as the 2011 Census. 

This page was last updated in May 2025.