Ticketing And Fares
Strathclyde Partnership for Transport SPT (http://www.spt.co.uk/) is the local agency which operates the Subway and co-ordinates public transport in the Greater Glasgow area. SPT offers a number of different daily combined bus/rail travel tickets aimed at the visitor, both usable after 9AM on weekdays and all day on weekends. Tickets are available from all manned railway stations, Subway stations, and certain newsagent shops in the city centre they will display a prominent SPT logo on their window somewhere. There is also a dedicated SPT Travel Desk in the domestic arrivals hall in Glasgow Airport.
The Discovery ticket allows unlimited travel on the Subway only at off-peak times during the week or all day on weekends, and costs £3.50 adult. If you have a car, a park-and-ride version around £7 is available which also includes a whole day's parking at any of the Subway car parks.
The Roundabout ticket gives complete freedom of the Subway and the suburban rail network within the Greater Glasgow area. which includes the city boundary and most of the surrounding towns.
Alternatively. the Day Tripper ticket covers the entire Strathclyde rail network, which extends as far south as Girvan in Ayrshire, some 55 miles south of Glasgow, and Ardlui at the northern tip of Loch Lomond some 40 miles north. It has the added advantage of being accepted by most bus operators in the Strathclyde region and on the Kilcreggan and Renfrew ferries. Two versions are available for 1 adult and up to 2 children £9.80 or 2 adults and up to 4 children £17.50.
If you are in town for a week or more, then SPT's ZoneCard might be useful. It can be used on suburban trains, buses, and the underground and has no off-peak restrictions. Prices vary depending on how long you want it for 1 week to 1 year and how many "zones" you want it to cover.
"PlanaJourney" (http://www.planajourney.co.uk/) is a free integrated public transport journey planner that includes Glasgow and covers much of the Scottish, Northern Ireland and UK public transport network. It includes bus, rail, Glasgow underground, Scottish ferries and flights. It can assist with planning journeys into and out of Glasgow from anywhere in the Glasgow area or more widely from anywhere in the UK. Outside of Scotland and Northern Ireland, the bus information is limited.
By public transport
Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (http://www.spt.co.uk/) SPT is the agency responsible for the local public transport network, which it describes as one of the most integrated and developed in the UK - however they mean by British standards, not European standards. Nevertheless, Glasgow's public transport system is one of the most extensive in the UK outside of London.