travel around Glasgow
Glasgow bus & taxi information
The best way to travel around Glasgow is to use the city’s easy to use Underground system whose stations are sign-posted with a large orange U. The flat fare is 80p but you can buy a day ticket for £2.50; a multi-journey costs £5.40 for ten journeys or £10 for twenty. The system runs from 6.30am until 10pm from Monday to Saturday and 11am until 5.30pm on Sundays. The main stations are Buchanan and St Enoch, while Hillside is in the West End, near the University. For anyone travelling beyond the city centre or the West End it is best to use the bus and train networks. The best way to get information on buses is by picking up individual timetables at the Travel Centre on St Enochs Square. Information on related services is also given at some bus stops. The suburban train network is also a fast and convenient way of getting around. If you are planning on staying in the city for a week or more it is worth while investing in a Zonecard, which covers all public transport networks and is valid for a week or a month. The price is dependent on the amount of zones you wish to travel through.
If you want to avoid public transport you can hail a black cab anywhere in the city. There are also taxi ranks at Buchanan Street bus station and at Central and Queen Street train stations. Taxis operate all day and night and are extremely reasonable.
Concession tickets include
Daytripper Ticket Ideal for families, this ticket provides unlimited travel throughout Strathclyde for one day by train, underground, most bus and some ferry routes for groups of 2 adults and up to 4 children or 1 adult and up to 2 children. For more information visit the SPT Website
Discovery Ticket Allows unlimited travel by underground for one day. Valid after 0930 Monday-Saturday and all day Sunday. Discovery Tickets can be bought from any underground station, vouchers are available from SPT travel centres which should be exchanged for a ticket at an underground station. All tickets £1.60
Roundabout Ticket Allows unlimited train travel around Glasgow and surrounding towns as well as on the underground. Valid Monday-Friday after 0900, Saturday, Sunday and public holidays all day. Roundabout adult £3.50, Roundabout child £1.75. Roundabout tickets can be obtained from staffed railway stations within the area covered by the ticket and SPT travel centres.
Car
Our advice is, if you don’t know the city, (or like driving in any city!) avoid traveling around Glasgow by car. Like all major cities, Glasgow can suffer from traffic congestion at peak times and this should be borne in mind when thinking about taking your car into the city centre, or using it to drive around there. Designated parking areas with meters or pay-and-display machines are located around the city. There are also a selection of car parks which are usually indicated by a large P sign . Often however these are pretty full and you’ll spend/waste more time driving around looking for spaces. Signs indicating parking restrictions are displayed at kerbsides and on entry to the city centre. Traffic wardens (and police) are on constant patrol and parking on a double-yellow line can carry a fairly hefty fine.
Car hire companies include: Arnold Clark (0141 434 0480), Europcar (0141 887 0414) and Mitchell's Self Drive (0141 221 8461).
Please remember to drive on the left !
To hire a car in Glasgow or at Glasgow airport, a simple on line resource is to go onto www.scotland-carhire.co.uk, and fill in the online enquiry form there. One of our agents will be straight back to you with the best deals available for the cars, vans, minibuses and dates of your choice. One way car hires are available for many towns and cities throughout Scotland too.
For luxury car hire in Glasgow and form Glasgow airport – visit www.luxury-carhire.co.uk
Coach/bus
The region has an integrated network of public transport services for the convenience of both visitors and residents alike. Strathclyde Passenger Transport (SPT) offers Daytripper, Discovery and Roundabout discount tickets for hop-on/hop-off travel around the region, details of which you will find below. SPT also operates a network of 12 Travel centres for all your public transport enquiries and tickets. Call Buchanan bus station on +44 (0) 141 333 3708 (Mon-Fri 0900-1700) for details of the centre nearest to you.
Private bus operators (notably First Glasgow, 0141 423 6600 and Stagecoach: Glasgow, 0141 333 1100 ) provide a comprehensive network of services from early morning until about midnight. You can get on a bus from clearly signposted bus stops in the street - just put out your hand to indicate that you wish the bus to stop. Please note that most buses run an 'exact fare' policy where money is entered directly into a cash box next to the driver and a ticket is then issued with no change given. Prices vary, but a fare of approximately ?1.15 should get you on most rides within the city. Night bus services operate at weekends only, when they can be quite boisterous. Tourist bus services operating from George Square are a very popular and informative way to see the city sites. Bus services to and from other UK towns and cities depart from Buchanan Street Bus Station (0141 332 7133).
From the Airport to the City
Glasgow airport (0141 887 1111/ 0141 848 4330) is located eight miles (14km) to the south-west of Glasgow at Junction 28 of the M8. It is linked by a bus station to Buchanan Street Bus Station by a service which runs every ten minutes from 8.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Saturday and less frequently during off-peak times. Gilmour Street rail station in Paisley is just two miles away and is linked by a frequent bus service. Taxis are widely available at the airport.
Train
Local, inner city and regional train services run regularly daily from two low level stations, located at the mainline stations of Glasgow Central and Glasgow Queen Street
Glasgow Central Low Level Station
Hope Street, Glasgow City, on the Glasgow - South East & North West routes
Staffed for all trains, with level access to ticket office from Hope Street. Lifts or stairs down to Island platform. A wheelchair is available. Induction loop at ticket window. There is a Private Multi-storey car park in Oswald Street. There are public phones at Hope Street level. Level access to unisex disabled toilet & station buffet at High Level station. CCTV in operation. There is a self service ticket machine located next to the telephones at the ticket office.
Glasgow Queen Street Low Level Station
North Hanover Street, Glasgow City, on the Glasgow - North East & North West routes
Staffed for all trains, with lifts or stairs down to both platforms. Following facilities available at High Level station: A wheelchair, ramp and luggage trolleys. Induction loop at ticket window. Station buffet. A taxi rank. A car park with 76 spaces, incl. 2 dedicated disabled. Public phones on concourse and entrance hall. There are self service ticket machines located within the station.
The low-level platforms handle suburban trains on the Strathclyde Passenger Transport network. There is also a covered walkway leading directly from Glasgow Queen Street to the nearby Buchanan St Underground station. The station is a 10-minute walk from the city's other main rail terminus, Glasgow Central and there is a frequent bus connecting both stations.
The Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre (SECC) has its own low level station, with frequent trains running from Central and Argyle Street stations.
To view all low level routes, download the PDF below
For low level timetables, look at www.firstgroup.com - the main low level services are listed as Strathclyde North East and Strathclyde North West.
Underground
The Subway Line (10.4 km), nicknamed Clockwork Orange, was already built in 1896, so it's one of the oldest metros in the world. Originally operated by steam engines via cable traction, the line was electrified in 1935. From 1977 to 1979 the whole line was thoroughly reformed and reopened in 1980.
Trains take approximately 24 minutes for an entire circle. Most stations have quite narrow central platforms long enough for a 3-car-train. Between Govan and Ibrox, on the south bank of the river Clyde, a tunnel exit leads to the Subway's depot. Directions are indicated as "Outer Circle" (clockwise) and "Inner Circle" (anti-clockwise).
In 2003, the Underground was renamed Subway, which was actually its original name. A new automatic control system has been installed and the old system removed. Some stations have a narrow island platform between the tracks but now used for one direction of travel only, since a new side platform has been created to one side. For safety reasons a barrier is being erected along the platform edge next to the track whose trains do not use the island platform.
