However, with the festive period comes restricted travel times and days when the whole public transport network ceases to operate.
If you’re looking to catch a train on Christmas Day or are trying to travel from Aberdeen to Glasgow over the festive period, here is everything you need to know.
When will Scottish buses, trains and more operate over the Christmas period?
Here are the operating times and dates for the likes of trains, buses and trams in Scotland over the Christmas and Hogmanay periods.
Trains (ScotRail)
ScotRail states that over the Christmas period, train timetables will be revised with the last trains departing earlier than normal and services stopping altogether on certain dates.
On Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, trains will operate as normal until around 7pm when services begin to wind down.
On Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, there will be no services in operation.
On Boxing Day and January 2, a revised service will be implemented with ScotRail advising passengers to plan ahead through its Journey Planner or app.
Bus services (First Bus)
First Bus states that on Christmas Eve, Sunday timetables will be applied with most services being withdrawn from around 9pm.
On Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, there will be no services except for the night buses operating in the early hours of January 1.
From December 27 to December 29, Saturday timetables will operate with a special one applying to selected buses like the 242.
On December 30, a Saturday timetable will be applied to all services with night buses operating from Friday evening until the early hours of Saturday.
On New Year’s Eve, a Sunday timetable will be in place with most services being withdrawn from around 9pm. Free night bus services will be offered to those on the N2, N18, N240 and N267 for Hogmanay.
On January 2, a Sunday service will run before reverting to normal operations on January 3.
Find out more on the First Bus website.
Edinburgh Trams
Edinburgh Trams will operate under a Sunday service and close on Christmas Day.
From Boxing Day to December 29, there will be a normal weekday service in place.
On December 30, a normal Saturday service will run until around 7pm when road closures take effect for the Hogmanay Street Party.
From December 31 to January 1, trams will continue to run with these being split between Edinburgh Airport, West End and Picardy Place. Find out more on the Edinburgh Trams website.
Glasgow Subway
According to the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) the Glasgow Subway will close at 6:15pm on Christmas Eve with the last trains leaving from the city centre at 6pm.
The subway will be closed on Christmas Day and reopen on Boxing Day between the hours of 8:30am and 10:40pm.
It will operate normally from December 27 to December 30 before closing at 6:15pm on New Year’s Eve.
The Subway will be closed on New Year’s Day and operate from 8:30am to 10:40pm on January 2.
