Glasgow Transportation

1. Glasgow Central connects Glasgow with the South, and is dubbed the gateway to England and the rest of the UK. The station offers public toilets, eating places, car parking, shopping and accommodation.
   
2. Queen Street connects Glasgow to the North of Scotland, and Edinburgh. The station offers public toilets, eating places and car parking and shopping. You can get rail information from National Rail Enquiries on 08457 484950.
   

• All Day - Unlimited travel till 1am. This ticket is great for hopping on and off First buses to various destinations in the city all for just £3.75 All Week - This ticket offers unlimited travel for 7 consecutive days from only £16.00.
  
• They also operate services to great destinations such as Balloch and Helensburgh.
  
• During the Easter holidays, summer holidays and late summer through to the September weekend, the X7 M&D's Express service runs from Buchanan Bus Station to the busy M&D's theme park.
  
• First's EventLink services connects fans with the major events at both Hampden and the SECC. Service 707 covers the SECC with services 731 and 775 covering Hampden.
  

1. 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 call SPT.
2. 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 £3.50 When you purchase a Discovery ticket, you will be given a leaflet containing a full colour map of the Subway route, including street names and the locations of rail and bus stations, SPT travel centres and tourist information centres. The map also shows the locations of over 70 visitor attractions, to help you plan your day of Discovery.
   
3. 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.
   
4. The Mackintosh Trail Ticket (£16), gives you unlimited travel on the SPT Subway and First's bus services in Glasgow after 09:30am. It also includes entry to all participating Mackintosh attractions in and around Glasgow. Charles Rennie Mackintosh attractions include:
   

• The Hill House, Helensburgh (seasonal)
  
• Ruchill Church Hall (seasonal)
  
• The Mackintosh Church
  
• The Mackintosh House at the Hunterian Art Gallery and Museum
  
• Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
  
• The Willow Tea Rooms
  
• The Glasgow School of Art
  
• Martyr's Public School (by appointment)
  
• The Lighthouse
  
• House for an Art Lover
  
• Scotland Street School Museum
  
• Daily Record Building (external viewing)
  

Direct from United Kingdom British Airways
easyJet
bmibaby bmi
Ryanair
  Flybe
Air Southwest
 

Other airlines flying to Glasgow KLM.com
Thomson
Aegean Airlines Air France
Air New Zealand
Qatar Airways SAS
TAM Linhas Aeras
Kenya Airways Aer Lingus
Alitalia
Malaysia Airlines Continental Airlines
TAP
Air Malta Emirates
Icelandair
LOT Lufthansa
Etihad Airways
All Nippon Airways United
Kingfisher
Wizz Air American Airlines
PIA
Asiana Airlines Virgin Atlantic
flythomascook.com charter
Air Transat Qantas
EgyptAir
SriLankan Airlines Delta
US Airways
Aer Arann Air Canada
Brussels Airlines
South African Airways Iberia
Royal Brunei
Thai Airways flythomascook.com
Austrian Airlines
  Finnair
Gulf Air
 

Getting there:

By Air:

The Glasgow International Airport (+44 870 040 0008/ http://www.glasgowairport.com) is Scotland's busiest airport serving nearly 80 destinations. 40 airlines serve Glasgow including:

Aer Lingus (0845 084 4444/ http://www.aerlingus.com)

Air Berlin (+49 180 573 7800/ http://www.airberlin.com)

Air Canada (0871 220 1111/ http://www.aircanada.ca)

Air Malta (0845 607 3710/ http://www.airmalta.com)

Air Scotland (0141 222 2363/ http://www.air-scotland.com)

Air Transat (0870 556 1522/ http://www.airtransat.uk.com)

BMI baby (0870 264 2229/ http://www.bmibaby.com)

British Airways (0870 850 9850/ http://www.ba.com)

Continental Airlines (0800 607 6760/ http://www.continental.com)

CSA Czech Airlines (0870 444 3747/ http://www.csa.cz)

EasyJet (0905 821 0905/ http://www.easyjet.com)

Emirates (0870 243 2222/ http://www.emirates.com)

Flybe (0870 700 0123/ http://www.flybe.com)

Flyglobespan.com (0870 556 1522/ http://www.flyglobespan.com)

Iberworld Airlines (http://www.iberworld.com)

Iceland Express (0870 8500 737/ http://www.icelandexpress.com)

KLM (0870 507 4047/ http://www.klm.com)

SN Brussels Airlines (0870 735 2345/ http://www.flysn.com)

Thomson Fly (+43 0192 89 598/ http://www.thomsonfly.com)

US Airways (0845 600 3300/ http://www.usairways.com)

Wizz Air (+48 22 351 9499/ http://www.wizzair.com)

Zoom Airlines (+44 0870 240 0055/ http://www.flyzoom.com)

All public buses operated by Citylink and Fairline (+44 870 550 5050/ http://www.travelinescotland.com) depart from the front of the terminal. Frequent services are available to Glasgow city center.

Taxis ( +44 141 848 4588 ) are always available and are located at the front of the terminal building. Taxi fare from the Airport to Glasgow city center is around £16.50.

Rental car companies servicing the Glasgow Airport include:

Alamo ( http://www.alamo.co.uk )

Avis ( http://www.avis.co.uk )

Budget ( http://www.budget.co.uk )

Europcar ( http://www.europcar.co.uk )

Hertz ( http://www.hertz.co.uk )

National ( http://www.nationalcar.co.uk )

Purple Parking ( http://www.purpleparking.com) offers convenient airport parking for business and leisure travelers.

By Bus:

National Express (08705 808 080/ http://www.nationalexpress.com) is a convenient coach network that travels to 1000 destinations throughout the UK. Scottish CityLink (0870 550 5050/ http://www.citylink.co.uk) runs buses to major towns throughout Scotland Coaches stop in Glasgow at the Buchanan Bus Station located off St. Andrew's Square.

By Car:

The main M74 north/south motorway provides easy access into Glasgow. The M8 from the east and Edinburgh travels through Glasgow city centre. The M9 from the north also reaches North Lanarkshire and Glasgow.

By Rail:

Glasgow Central Train Station serves Southern Scotland, England and Wales and the Queen St Station serves the north and east. There are frequent direct trains from London as well as Edinburgh. ScotRail (0845 748 4950/ http://www.scotrail.co.uk) services the West Highland line.

Getting around:

Glasgow has easy and convenient ways to get around the city. Public transportation is much preferred over battling one-way streets and expensive parking. First Glasgow Bus Company (+44 141 423 6600/ http://www.firstgroup.com) services all of the city and surrounding areas.

Known as the "Clockwork Orange," a 15-stop subway services Glasgow with trains operating about every five minutes. Daily and weekly passes are available (+44 141 332 7133).

Park & Ride (+44 0845 606 4446) with locations throughout the city for bus connections

Taxis run throughout the city and can either be hailed on the street or called in (TOA Taxis, +44 141 429 7070).

Cosybike provides "conference bike" rides for groups (http://www.cosybike.co.uk/).

One of the best ways to explore Glasgow is by foot. The center of town is laid out on a grid, which makes map reading relatively easy. However, some of the city's significant attractions, such as the Burrell Collection, are in surrounding districts, and for those, you'll need to rely on public transportation or a car.

Remember: A one-way ticket is called "single" fare and a round-trip is a "return" journey.

By Bus

Glasgow has an extensive (if somewhat confusing) bus service run by the privately owned First Group. The buses can be embarrassingly littered by the end of the day, and routes tend to run between east and west or north and south, with almost all buses coming through the city center on busy thoroughfares such as St. Vincent, Hope, Argyll, and Sauchiehall streets. Service is frequent during the day. After 11pm it is curtailed on most routes, but some (for example, 40 or 62) run all night long (at least on weekends), although there is a premium put on tickets. Typically, one-way (single) fares are about £1.30 ($2.60), and for £3 ($6) you can use the buses (after 9:30am) all day long with few restrictions. A weeklong ticket costs £13 ($26). The city bus station is the Buchanan Street Bus Station. The "Traveline" number (tel. 0871/200-2233) gives timetable information (but not fares); you can also log on to www.firstgroup.com.

Tip: "FirstDay" Bargain on the Buses -- For £3 ($6), you can buy a FirstDay ticket that allows you to hop on and off buses run by the main bus company all day long. The ticket is valid daily from 9:30am to midnight. It's sold by drivers. For more information, check www.firstgroup.com.

By Underground & Suburban Train

Glasgow's Underground, which in a nod to the city's American cousins is officially called the Subway, offers a 15-stop circular system linking the city center, West End, and a bit of the Southside. During the day there is generally no more than a 5- to 8-minute wait for trains. Trains run on longer intervals on Sunday and at night. The one-way adult fare is £1.10 ($2.20). You can buy a 20-trip ticket for £17 ($34). The underground runs Monday to Saturday 6:30am to about 11:30pm and Sunday 11am to about 6pm.

The Transcentre (local ticket sales only) at the St. Enoch underground station, 2 blocks from the Central Station, is generally open Monday to Saturday from 8:30am to 5:30pm, but it closes early on Wednesday. On Sunday, the hours are 10am to 5pm.

Glasgow and the region have the largest train network in Great Britain after London, operated by the private franchise holder First Scotrail and the quasi-public body now called the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT). Local train services to both Central (upper and lower levels) and Queen Street (lower level only) stations run as frequently as every 10 minutes or so during the day to destinations in the West End and on the Southside. Service is less frequent after the evening rush hour, and the system shuts down around midnight. While extensive, the trains are not cheap by European standards. A typical round-trip fare is £2 to £4 ($4-$8).

For families on an excursion, the Daytripper ticket is excellent. For £15 ($30), two adults and up to four children (5-15 years old) can travel anywhere in the system (including broad swaths of Ayrshire) by suburban train, the underground, most buses, and even a few ferries. For one adult and two children, the fare is £8.50 ($17).

The main SPT switchboard is tel. 0141/332-6811. Hours are Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm, or log onto www.spt.co.uk.

By Taxi

Metered taxis are the same excellent ones found in Edinburgh or London: the Fast Black, which you can hail or pick up at taxi ranks in the city center. Alternatively you can also reserve one by calling Glasgow Taxis Ltd. (tel. 0141/429-7070). Most taxi trips within the city cost between £5 and £15 ($10-$30). A surcharge is imposed for late-night/early-morning runs. There are also Private Hire cars, but they cannot be hailed. Call tel. 0141/774-3000.

By Car

To get around the city, you're better off using public transportation (especially at rush hour), but Glasgow goes a long way toward encouraging car use with several multistory parking lots. Metered parking is available, but expensive, and you'll need plenty of coins to feed the meter, which issues a ticket that you must affix to the windshield. Some zones in residential areas are marked PERMIT HOLDERS ONLY -- your vehicle may be towed if you lack a permit. A double yellow line along the curb indicates no parking at any time. A single yellow line along the curb indicates restrictions, too, so be sure and read the signs on what the limitations are.

If you want to rent a car, it's best to arrange it in advance. But if you want to rent a car locally, most companies will accept your foreign driver's license. All the major rental agencies are represented at the airport. In addition, Avis Rent-a-Car is at 70 Lancefield St. (tel. 0870/608-6339); Budget Rent-a-Car is at 101 Waterloo St. (tel. 0800/212-636); and Arnold Clark is at multiple locations (tel. 0845/607-4500).

By Bicycle

Though bikes are not as widely used in Glasgow as in Edinburgh, most parts of the city are fine for biking. For what the Scots call "cycle hire," go to a well-recommended shop in the West End, just off Byres Road: West End Cycles, 16-18 Chancellor St. (tel. 0141/357-1344; Underground: Hillhead or Kelvinhall; bus: 9 or 18). It is close to the National Cycle Trail that leads to Loch Lomond and rents bikes well-suited to the hilly terrain of Glasgow and surrounding areas. The cost is £15 ($30) per day, and a cash deposit of £100 ($200) or the imprint of a valid credit card is necessary as security. In the city center, Alpine Bikes in the Tiso Outdoor Centre, 50 Couper St., near Buchanan Bus Station (tel. 0141/552-8575), offers limited cycle rental. Prices start at £8 ($16).