Scotland - Vehicles Licensed & Traffic Volume
Vehicles licensed in Scotland
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The graph above shows trends in licensed motor vehicles in Scotland since 1975, illustrating the steady rise in vehicles on Scotland's roads. In 1975, there were over 1.3 million vehicles licensed in Scotland and by 2021 that figure had more than doubled to over 3 million vehicles - a rise of 135%. The number of Electric and Hybrid Electric vehicles has increased in recent years to 108,000 in 2021, accounting for 3.5% of all licensed vehicles.
Traffic volume trends for Scotland
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Traffic volume, as measured by vehicle kilometres driven on all Scottish roads, rose steadily from 2000-2019. However, in 2020, traffic volumes dropped steeply as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions but rebounded upwards in 2021 with the easing of restrictions.
Notes
See Scottish Transport Statistics for more detail.
Additional Resources
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ResourceThursday, 6 December 2012
Going to Gothenburg: Reflections on a Study Visit
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ResourceWednesday, 18 May 2011
Hands Up Scotland 2010
Results from the largest national dataset to look at mode of travel to school across Scotland -
ResourceFriday, 1 October 2010
Moving in the right direction?
Findings from a review of transport policy in Scotland -
ResourceSaturday, 21 August 2010
Active Travel - Video
Qualitative research has been undertaken in order to better understand how and why people currently travel as they do and to explore the scope for encouraging growth in alternatives to car travel. -
ResourceTuesday, 1 September 2009
Attitudes toward active travel in Glasgow
Findings from a qualitative research project exploring how and why people travel in and around Glasgow -
ResourceThursday, 1 November 2007
How can transport contribute to public health?
A briefing paper discussing the evidence regarding the potential of transport to improve health, reduce inequalities and improve sustainability
