Scotland's killer commutes: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen

For some, getting to work can be even more stressful than actually being there.

Renfield Street, Glasgow during rush hour. Photo Robert Perry/Scotland on Sunday.

Living in the city can have its perks but sadly for commuters in Edinburgh and Glasgow, getting to work in a reasonable amount of time is not one of them. Residents of the two biggest cities in Scotland bare the brunt of the worst morning train delays in Britain’s cities.

Data collected by Fasteroute and the Open Data Institute analysed the punctuality of morning train arrivals across 16 major British cities. Their study found that one in four of train arrivals between 7-10am were delayed in the Capital while over one in three arrivals were delayed in Glasgow.

Delays amounted to over ten hours a year in both cities which is equivalent to one and a half working days.

Picture: Delays amounted to over ten hours a year in Glasgow and Edinburgh

EDINBURGH

Opting to avoid public transport can leave Edinburgh workers stuck in the rush-hour jams. The TomTom Travel Index 2015 showed that travel in Edinburgh had taken 36 per cent longer on average than it would’ve done in free-flowing traffic and 71 per cent longer in the evening rush hour.

The Index also revealed that commuters living within a 30-minute drive of the capital face daily delays of around 24 minutes - adding up to a grand total of 93 hours a year.

Picture: Delays amounted to over ten hours a year in Glasgow and Edinburgh

With more than a third (35 per cent) of its workforce living outwith the city limits, Edinburgh’s influx of workers puts strain on the city’s transpot network.

Those travelling on Easter Road, London Road, Maybury Road and North and South Bridge, face the worst of the congestion.

GLASGOW

In Glasgow, the ultimate killer commute was revealed to be the 4.22pm east-west service from Cumbernauld to Dalmuir which arrives late on nearly three of every five days. The train’s chronic punctuality problems are caused by its travel through Glasgow Central and a heavily-congested stretch at Patrick in Glasgow’s west end, which handles trains every two minutes.

The 4.22pm reached its destination more than five minutes late 58 per cent of the time in year to June. An hour later at 5.22p, it was late on 54 per cent of days.

Other routes causing commuters headaches are the 5.56pm from Airdrie to Balloch, beside Loch Lomond, and the 6.20pm from Glasgow Central to Lanark.

ODI found that if commuters travelled half an hour later or earlier than 8.30-9am, they would reduce the amount of time stuck in delays a year by two hours.

Over 200,000 of Scotland’s workforce commute for more than two hours a day, according to the Trade Union Congress. Three times as many people in London committed to the long-haul commute.

Despite how bleak the figures, there’s always someone whose journey is longer or more expensive than yours.

ABERDEEN

Aberdeen experiences the worst road delays in according to Direct Line. Motorists in the city experience an average delay of 6.5 minutes for every half hour they drive.

During rush hour, drivers travel at an average speed of just 12.6mph, compared to average of 16.2mph at off peak times.

Sadly rush hour traffic won’t be easing off anytime soon with the latest census revealing a fall in the number of people using public transport or walking. Almost two-thirds of working Scots - around 1.3 million - decide to travel in a car or van, adding to the congestion.

According to the Office of National statistics, 237 people living in Islington, North London, commute to Aberdeen while over 450 people living in Kent travel to Dumfries and Galloway.