The number of drivers on UK roads across a major region has reached an "all-time high" despite Government efforts to stop more cars travelling.
The latest figures from Transport Scotland revealed the overall number of kilometres travelled by car rose from just under 34.4 billion in 2023 to almost 35.4 billion last year, marking a three per cent increase.
This rise comes despite the Scottish Government's ambitious target to reduce car kilometres by 20 per cent by 2030 as part of efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
But Watchdogs at Audit Scotland had previously warned in January that this target would be "unlikely" to be met with new revisions needed.
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Auditor General for Scotland Stephen Boyle said then that there had been a "lack of leadership" around what was an "ambitious and very challenging target".
The rise in car use comes as the number of motor vehicles licensed in Scotland increased to a record high of 3.1 million in 2023.
Ultra-low emission vehicles made up 2.9 per cent of all vehicles by the end of that year, up from 2.1 per cent at the end of 2022.
The latest figures show an overall rise in road traffic, with the distance travelled by all motor vehicles on Scotland's roads amounting to 48 billion kilometres in 2023.
This was an increase of two per cent on the previous year but was slightly below the 48.3 billion vehicle kilometres travelled in 2019.
Interestingly, the increase in car use has occurred despite more Scots using public transport, with passenger numbers rising across all forms of public transit.
The figures also show a decrease in cycling, with journeys by bike down from 422 million kilometres in 2022-23 to 403 million kilometres in 2023-24, a fall of five per cent.
Despite this decline, cycling levels remained 10 per cent higher than in 2019, following an increase during the pandemic.
Scottish Green MSP Mark Ruskell said: "The continued growth of public transport to pre-pandemic levels is good news, but it is clear that we badly need to reduce the number of cars on our roads."
He argued that cutting fares and investing more in public transport could help tackle both the climate crisis and cost of living. "When you invest in public transport, people use it; we've seen this time and again," he insisted.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Government has allocated £10million to councils for more than 120 road safety improvement projects across the country.
These initiatives include junction improvements, carriageway enhancements, new pedestrian crossings and traffic calming measures.
Progress is also being made on implementing 20mph speed limits across the local road network.
Speaking at the Road Safety Scotland Annual Seminar, Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop said: "Road safety is a priority for the Scottish Government and its partners and we remain absolutely committed to working together to reach our ambitious goal of making Scotland's roads the safest in the world by 2030. One death on our roads is one too many."
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Transport emissions accounted for 31.7 per cent of Scotland's total greenhouse gas emissions in 2022, a similar proportion to pre-pandemic levels of 31.6 per cent in 2019.
While transport emissions in 2022 were 9.1 per cent higher than in 2021, they remained 13.3 per cent lower than 1990 levels.
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The latest figures from Transport Scotland revealed the overall number of kilometres travelled by car rose from just under 34.4 billion in 2023 to almost 35.4 billion last year, marking a three per cent increase.
This rise comes despite the Scottish Government's ambitious target to reduce car kilometres by 20 per cent by 2030 as part of efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
But Watchdogs at Audit Scotland had previously warned in January that this target would be "unlikely" to be met with new revisions needed.
Do you have a story you'd like to share? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]
Auditor General for Scotland Stephen Boyle said then that there had been a "lack of leadership" around what was an "ambitious and very challenging target".
The rise in car use comes as the number of motor vehicles licensed in Scotland increased to a record high of 3.1 million in 2023.
Ultra-low emission vehicles made up 2.9 per cent of all vehicles by the end of that year, up from 2.1 per cent at the end of 2022.
The latest figures show an overall rise in road traffic, with the distance travelled by all motor vehicles on Scotland's roads amounting to 48 billion kilometres in 2023.
This was an increase of two per cent on the previous year but was slightly below the 48.3 billion vehicle kilometres travelled in 2019.
Interestingly, the increase in car use has occurred despite more Scots using public transport, with passenger numbers rising across all forms of public transit.
The figures also show a decrease in cycling, with journeys by bike down from 422 million kilometres in 2022-23 to 403 million kilometres in 2023-24, a fall of five per cent.
Despite this decline, cycling levels remained 10 per cent higher than in 2019, following an increase during the pandemic.
Scottish Green MSP Mark Ruskell said: "The continued growth of public transport to pre-pandemic levels is good news, but it is clear that we badly need to reduce the number of cars on our roads."
He argued that cutting fares and investing more in public transport could help tackle both the climate crisis and cost of living. "When you invest in public transport, people use it; we've seen this time and again," he insisted.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Government has allocated £10million to councils for more than 120 road safety improvement projects across the country.
These initiatives include junction improvements, carriageway enhancements, new pedestrian crossings and traffic calming measures.
Progress is also being made on implementing 20mph speed limits across the local road network.
Speaking at the Road Safety Scotland Annual Seminar, Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop said: "Road safety is a priority for the Scottish Government and its partners and we remain absolutely committed to working together to reach our ambitious goal of making Scotland's roads the safest in the world by 2030. One death on our roads is one too many."
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Transport emissions accounted for 31.7 per cent of Scotland's total greenhouse gas emissions in 2022, a similar proportion to pre-pandemic levels of 31.6 per cent in 2019.
While transport emissions in 2022 were 9.1 per cent higher than in 2021, they remained 13.3 per cent lower than 1990 levels.
Find Out More...