Overview
Glasgow's public transport is a mix of a small circular underground metro, an extensive suburban rail network, and a dense bus network, all centred on a compact city centre that is easy to walk across. The metro is the Glasgow Subway (Scottish Gaelic: Fo-rèile Ghlaschu, literally "Glasgow under-rail"), an underground light metro system owned and operated by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT). Opened on 14 December 1896, it is the third-oldest underground metro system in the world, after the Metropolitan Railway in London (1863) and the Budapest Metro (1896). It is one of the very few railways in the world with a track gauge of 4 ft (1,219 mm), and its tunnels are so small that its trains are considerably smaller than even the deep-level trains of the London Underground.
For a visitor, riding the Subway end to end is simple. It is a single circular loop of almost 6½ miles (10.5 km) that crosses both north and south of the River Clyde, with 15 stations. You enter a station, buy or tap a ticket, descend to the platform, board a train, and ride around the circle until you reach your stop. Because the line is a closed loop, there is no terminus and no need to worry about which end of the platform to use for a given direction — you simply choose the correct circle. Trains run roughly every few minutes through the day. The system is policed by British Transport Police and carried 12.7 million passengers in 2019–20.
The network
Glasgow's network is made up of several distinct systems, each with its own identity and ticketing.
- Glasgow Subway (SPT) — the circular underground metro. It is described as two lines, the Outer Circle and the Inner Circle, which simply refers to the double track: trains run clockwise on one and anticlockwise on the other around the same route in separate tunnels. The running lines are entirely underground; the only above-ground part is the maintenance depot at Broomloan Road, between Govan and Ibrox stations. Power is supplied at 600 V DC by third rail. Opening hours are 06:30 to 23:40 Monday to Saturday and 10:00 to 18:12 on Sunday.
- Suburban rail (ScotRail and others) — the national rail network serves Glasgow through two main city-centre stations. Glasgow Central handles trains from London Euston, Manchester, the south of Scotland, slower services from Edinburgh, and the city's southern districts; it is mostly a terminus, though some through services reverse out and the low-level platforms carry regional through-trains. Glasgow Queen Street is the terminus for fast trains from Edinburgh via Falkirk and for northern cities such as Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness and Oban, and its low-level platforms have through-trains for nearby places such as Dumbarton. Two notable underground suburban sections are the North Clyde Line (which includes a three-mile/five-kilometre tunnel under the city centre between High Street and west of Charing Cross, opened in 1886 as part of the Glasgow City and District Railway) and the Argyle Line (formerly part of the Glasgow Central Railway). Most trains within Scotland are run by ScotRail.
- Tram / light rail — Glasgow has no tram or light-rail system. The Subway is the city's only rail-based urban rapid transit.
- Buses — the bus network fills in the gaps the Subway and rail do not cover, including cross-city and suburban routes. Operators include First Glasgow and McGill's, among others. The city's main bus station is Buchanan Bus Station, a quarter mile north of Queen Street station.
- Ferries — Glasgow itself is a river city rather than a ferry city, but ferries connect to the wider Clyde and island network. McGill's Bus 757 links Glasgow Airport to Paisley Gilmour Street station, from which trains run outbound to Gourock (for the Dunoon ferry), Wemyss Bay (for the Bute ferry) and Ardrossan (for the Arran ferry).
Tickets & fares
Subway ticketing is straightforward, and you have three main ways to pay. All fares below are approximate and change, so check current prices before you travel.
- Contactless pay-as-you-go — tap in and tap out using a Visa or Mastercard debit or credit card, or a mobile wallet such as Apple Pay or Google Pay. You must use the same card or device for both tap in and tap out, or you may be charged more.
- Subway smartcard — used for pay-as-you-go credit and season tickets. An anonymous Subway smartcard costs £5 and can be bought at any Subway station. A personalised Subway smartcard also costs £5 and can be ordered online. ScotRail smartcards and National Entitlement Cards are also accepted. You can buy pay-as-you-go credit and season tickets at any station or online.
- Paper tickets — single, return and all-day tickets bought on the day of travel at any station, either at the ticket office or from a Ticket Vending Machine, by cash or card.
Ticket types include single, return, all-day (unlimited travel for one day), 7-day (capped travel Monday to Sunday) and 28-day season tickets (adult, loadable onto smartcards). Pay-as-you-go credit, adult 7-day and 28-day season tickets can also be loaded onto other smartcards, including ScotRail and McGill's.
Fares fall into three categories:
- Adult — standard fare.
- Child — for under-16s with a registered Subway smartcard (proof of age required at registration). Under-5s travel free if accompanied by a fare-paying adult. Child pay-as-you-go credit is deducted at the gates at the child rate, and child season tickets are available at station ticket offices only or online.
- Concession — for eligible National Entitlement Card holders (60+ or disabled) issued by an SPT council. Concession fares apply only after 09:00 on weekdays; before 09:00 you pay the full adult fare. National Entitlement Cards issued by non-SPT councils are charged full adult fares.
The Subway is a single-zone system — because it is one circular line, there are no zones to worry about within it. Parking is available at Bridge Street, Kelvinbridge and Shields Road stations, with car park season tickets for regular users; parking is available during Subway opening hours, and overnight parking is permitted at Shields Road only.
From the airport
Glasgow Airport (GLA) is the city's principal airport, about 8 miles west of the city centre near Paisley. There is no railway station at the airport, so transport into the centre is usually by bus or taxi.
- Glasgow Airport Express — takes about 15 minutes from the terminal via Dundas Street (for Queen Street Station) to Buchanan Bus Station. It runs every 10–15 minutes from 8AM to 11PM and hourly through the night. Tickets cost about £10 for a single adult and £16 for an open return (within 28 days), and can be paid in cash (change is given) or by card, a little cheaper if booked online. Single tickets (but not returns) include an onward transfer to any other First Glasgow bus in the city centre.
- First Glasgow Bus 77 — takes about an hour via Renfrew, Braehead, Govan (for QE Hospitals), Partick and Kelvingrove to Buchanan Bus Station. It runs every 30 minutes from 5:20AM to 9PM. It is slow but may be more convenient for the West End, and cheaper at about £5.40 for a Dayrider single. Note that the airport is in the "Local" zone, so the "City" zone fare is not enough.
- McGill's Bus 757 — runs every 30 minutes to Paisley Gilmour Street railway station, which has very frequent trains to Glasgow Central and outbound to Gourock (for the Dunoon ferry), Wemyss Bay (for the Bute ferry), Ardrossan (for the Arran ferry) and Ayr. The bus takes about 15 minutes by a zigzag route; northbound it continues from the airport to Inchinnan, Erskine and Clydebank bus station.
- Ember electric buses — offer Glasgow Airport as a request stop on their E5 (Fort William–Glasgow) and E16 (Oban–Glasgow) services, taking around 25 minutes to reach Buchanan Bus Station and costing about £4.35 for a single. Tickets must be pre-booked online, so check the timetable or live map for options.
- Taxi — to the city centre takes about 20 minutes and costs around £40.
Glasgow Prestwick Airport (PIK) is on the Ayrshire coast 32 miles southwest of Glasgow and is served mainly by Ryanair; trains run to Glasgow Central with half-price fares for air passengers, plus Bus X77. Edinburgh Airport (EDI) is about 35 miles away and has a direct bus to Glasgow Buchanan Station. Manchester Airport (MAN) has hourly trains to Glasgow Central taking about five hours with a change.
Etiquette & customs
Glasgow's transport is generally relaxed, but a few local habits will make your journey smoother.
- Queuing — queuing is the norm in Britain, including at bus stops, ticket machines and station entrances. Join the back of the queue and wait your turn rather than pushing forward.
- Escalators — stand on the right and walk on the left, the standard UK convention. If you are not walking, keep to the right so others can pass.
- Priority seating — priority seats are reserved for older people, pregnant passengers and those with disabilities or mobility needs. Offer your seat if someone who needs it is standing.
- Eating and drinking — eating and drinking on public transport is generally discouraged, and some operators restrict it. Keep hot food and strong-smelling items for outside the train or bus.
- Rush-hour behaviour — at peak times, let passengers off before you board, move down the carriage or bus to make room, and keep bags and luggage out of the aisles. Keep noise down, especially with phone calls and music.
- Quiet travel — many passengers prefer a quiet journey, so use headphones and keep conversations low, particularly in the morning and evening peaks.
Official links
Survival terms
Glasgow is a natively English-speaking city, so most transit words are already in English. A few local and Gaelic terms are worth knowing.
- Subway / metro — Fo-rèile Ghlaschu (Glasgow under-rail), commonly just "the Subway"
- Ticket — ticket
- Line — line (the Subway has the Outer Circle and Inner Circle)
- Entrance — entrance
- Exit — exit
- Transfer — transfer (on the Subway, change between the Outer and Inner Circles at any station)
- Single fare — single
- Day pass — all-day ticket
If you are only in Glasgow for a day, buy an all-day Subway ticket and use the Outer or Inner Circle to hop between the city centre and the West End, then walk the short, well-signposted 10 minutes between Central and Queen Street rather than taking the Subway between them.