Transport Use in Scotland Continues to Recover but Remains Below Pre-Pandemic Levels

New figures from the latest Scottish Transport Statistics report show that travel across most modes has increased over the past year, although overall demand has yet to fully return to levels seen before the pandemic.

Bus travel rose modestly, with 334 million journeys recorded in 2024/25—an increase of 2% on the previous year. However, this remains around 7% lower than figures reported in 2019/20.

Rail usage has also continued its recovery. ScotRail services carried 84.7 million passengers during 2024/25, up 4% year-on-year. Despite this growth, rail journeys are still approximately 12% below pre-pandemic levels, when passenger numbers reached around 96 million.

In contrast, road traffic has now exceeded pre-COVID levels. Total vehicle mileage reached 49.3 billion kilometres in 2024, a 2% increase compared with 2023 and slightly higher than the 48.7 billion kilometres recorded in 2019.

Looking more closely at vehicle types, car travel has not yet fully recovered, remaining 2% below 2019 levels despite a year-on-year increase. Meanwhile, light goods vehicles have seen significant growth, with distances travelled rising by 17% since 2019—reflecting ongoing changes in logistics and delivery demand.

Environmental data from 2023 indicates that transport emissions remain a major contributor to Scotland’s carbon footprint. While emissions were 10% lower than in 2019, they increased by 17% compared with 2020, when travel was heavily reduced during the pandemic. Transport accounted for 33.2% of Scotland’s total greenhouse gas emissions in 2023, slightly higher than in previous years.

Other key trends highlighted in the report include:

• Air travel reached 28 million passengers in 2024, up 8% year-on-year but still 2% below 2019 levels

• Ferry usage totalled 9.7 million passengers, broadly unchanged from 2023 but 7% lower than pre-pandemic figures

• Cycling levels fell by 5% compared with 2023, though remain 5% higher than in 2019

• The number of registered vehicles in Scotland has reached a record high of 3.2 million

Overall, the data suggests that while public transport is gradually recovering, road use—particularly for freight—continues to grow, presenting ongoing challenges for sustainability and emissions reduction.