Tuesday August 4th 2026
Glasgow skyline
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Sarah Hilley
Car journey mileage in Glasgow is slightly down after the council set a goal to cut the number of vehicle kilometres travelled by 30 per cent by 2030.
Data from November 2025 showed there has been a one per cent decrease in vehicle distances travelled in the city with 2,019 million vehicle kilometres recorded.
The reduction represents a one per cent decrease from a 2019 baseline of 2,040 million vehicle kilometres.
Glasgow City Council hopes to see a cut in car journeys in the city and is encouraging people to cycle and walk more with a huge investment in new active travel routes for bikes and pedestrians.
In response to a question from Labour Councillor Thomas Rannachan querying the level of decreased vehicle journeys, the council said: “The target for car vehicle kilometres in the city is a 30 per cent reduction by 2030 as set out within the Glasgow Transport Strategy”.
It added: “It may be noted that this target was set in consideration of Transport Scotland’s national target of a 20 per cent reduction in car kilometres by 2030. This national target has since been withdrawn and in Scotland’s Climate Change Plan: 2026 to 2040, published in March 2026.”
It continued: “The Scottish Governments approach has changed significantly. “While progress against the target has been hampered by the COVID recovery, we are working with partners to influence public transport improvements and continuing to roll out active travel infrastructure.”
The council said there has been a “real uptake in cycling” and that 15 per cent of all journeys on the south city way route “are made by bike”. It added that there has been a “growth of 46 per cent in cyclists between 2024 and 2025”.
The response to councillor Rannachan’s question will be presented to Wednesday’s Glasgow City Council Operational Performance and Delivery Scrutiny Committee.
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