Useful Apps

Getting around Glasgow is well-served in the usual travel apps. Both Google Maps and Apple Maps will give good directions for walking, public transport and for car journeys. We prefer CityMapper, which presents a variety of options, including taxis in one app.

For taking buses, the FirstBus app is recommended. It is the only bus app that shows arrival by GPS location of the bus rather than by estimation from the timetable.

CityMapper is our favourite app for getting around when we don't know exactly how to get to where we want to. It will show you the range of travel choices to get to a location, further, will give step-free options. We also link it because it shows how many stops away your destination is (e.g. ‘get this bus and ride for 7 stops (12 minutes)’), and once en-route, will use GPS to let you know when to prepare to get off.

There is a subscription service that enables single-method routing and a voice assistant for £2.99 per month. It has a seven-day trial to see if you need that.

We use What3Words extensively on this site. We find that it's the easiest way to exactly pinpoint the location of a place. By having the app installed on your phone or other device, you can pinpoint the exact location of any location down to a 3m square.

Both of these apps – inbuilt to your phone – will give a good idea of the public transport options in and around the city. They won't give you live data or pricing but they will give you a good idea of your options. And a little dot on the map showing exactly where you are!

FirstBus is the biggest bus company serving Glasgow and the surrounding area. Its buses are all wheelchair-accessible. The app can assist with route planning, service availability and ticket purchase.

ScotRail is Scotland's national rail service. It has convenient stops in the centre of Glasgow, and right beside the SEC. Its trains are all wheelchair-accessible. The app can assist with route planning, service availability and ticket purchase.

The Glasgow Taxis app is for Glasgow's fleet of black cabs. They are able to be hired on-street if available, and all are accessible.

GlasGo is the app for private hire cabs in the city. These are not able to be hired on-street – only via the app or phone. They are often slightly cheaper than a black cab, and their accessibility depends on asking for it at time of booking – which may incur a time delay in getting an accessible cab to you.

Hotels these days are perfectly relaxed about having food delivered to them, and this is often simpler than having to go out in a strange city and try to sort out your choices and options. Listed below are the most popular food ordering apps in use here.

Deliveroo is just about the most popular food delivery app in the UK. A very wide range of restaurants are signed up, and delivery is pretty efficient.

Whether Deliveroo or Just Eat are the Number 1 food delivery company in Glasgow is something both companies will argue. But if you can't find what you want on one, then you're likely to on the other.

Uber Eats are pretty involved in food delivery in the city too. You'll find Uber Eats integrated into the Uber app if you use for that for transport. But if you don't, there's standalone apps too

To be honest, we get by with the default weather apps on both Apple and Android most of the time. They're good enough. But here are a couple of alternatives to look at if you fancy a change.

Bold and simple, the BBC Weather app gives you a simple, graphical representation of the weather for the next ten days. Given the way UK weather can change, you can believe that for the next two.

Who better to get UK weather information from than the source, the Uk Meterological Office? The free version of this app is add-supported but there is also a £2.99 version than remove ads. Contains information other apps don't, such as rainfall radar maps and UK-wide weather warnings.