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Glasgow trends

Trends in modes of travel to work or study in Glasgow, 2001-2022

Method of travel to work or full-time study (all people age 16-74) by Glasgow, 2001, 2011 and 2022

There was a six-fold increase from 2001 to 2022 for working-age people who worked mainly at or from home, rising from 5.1% to 33.3%.

Commuting trends in Glasgow between 2001 and 2022 changed in several ways:

  • The most common method of travel throughout was driving or as a passenger in a car. The proportion of commuters using a car increased from 41.8% in 2001 to 46.9% in 2011 and declined to 38.1% in 2022.
  • Bus use continually reduced from a modal share of 23.2% to 9.3% from 2001 to 2022.
  • A similar trend was shown for those walking to work or study whereby there was a steady decrease in Glasgow from 17.1% of commuters to 8.8% over the three Censuses, this was a reduction of almost half from 2001 to 2022.
  • Train use increased initially in Glasgow from 6.2% of commutes in 2001 to 7.7% in 2011, but decreased again in 2022 to 4.9%.
  • Cyclist commuters gradually increased from 1.2% to 2.2% in Glasgow from 2001 to 2022.

Notes

The data are sourced from the 2001,2011 and 2022 Censuses. The Census question is thought to underestimate levels of walking, as the question asks for the main mode of travel used on a commuting journey and multi-modal journeys which include walking but not as the main mode of travel are not accounted for.

A GCPH report, Pedestrian and cyclist casualty trends in Scotland, as well as providing a detailed analysis of casualty trends, outlines trends in modes of travel to work and study in Scotland (see Chapter 4 and Appendix A).

This page was last upated in March 2025.

Further reading under ‘Travel to work’