Edinburgh councillors will review allowing private hire vehicles to use bus lanes in the city – but for now are asked to maintain the current position.
A report before the city’s transport meeting next Thursday asks councillors to review access to bus lanes for private hire vehicles. But council officers recommend that any decision allowing such a should be delayed until several city centre mobility projects and traffic studies are completed.
Council officers also ask for a review of all current bus gates in the city to determine where it may be appropriate to open them up to private hire cars as well as Black Taxis.
Transport Convener Cllr Stephen Jenkinson said he expected there will be differing opinions on the proposals – but that he remains opposed to bus lanes being opened up to more vehicles.
He said: “My opinion is that it should be maintained and upheld, and that the current restrictions should continue.
“We have been asked multiple times by the industry to change the policy, we’ve held firm on that as a committee, as a council under various administrations.
“If you’ve got a bus priority measure, and you’re really pushing for people to use and see bus as an option for them to get around – I think that would negate the use of it in the first place.”
He also said officers had spent time speaking with the private hire, black cab and public transport industries, along with other stakeholders, when compiling the report.
As to the proposals for changes to bus gates, he said it could be valuable to explore how they could be used more efficiently to help both private hire and taxi drivers.
Currently most Edinburgh bus gates are closed to black cabs, and all are shut to private hire vehicles.
The report states that the council has maintained a long-standing policy of keeping bus lanes for buses and black cabs only since at least the 1990s. Bus operators have said they are concerned about possible increases in journey times, and additional queuing at junctions, if bus lanes were now opened to the 3,000 or so private hire vehicles in the city.
Cycling representatives are against the proposal over safety concerns – as bikes can also currently use bus lanes in Edinburgh.
But the private hire industry feel that allowing black taxis to use bus lanes creates an unfair operating environment, and can lead to higher fares caused by traffic delays.
Council officers admit in the report that private hire vehicles provide travel options for city residents who are unable to use the bus and who do not have access to a vehicle of their own.
The report explains: “Bus gates are short lengths of bus lane that are an effective way to restrict access to certain streets to a limited number of vehicles. They can be implemented on roads that do not have bus services and could be more accurately referred to as modal filters.”
There are proposals for a new bus gate on Market Street which will include allowing private hire vehicles to use it in a trial scheme.
And any bus gate in the George Street project might allow private hires at certain times – though the George Street and First New Town proposals still await approval.
Councillors will consider the report at the next meeting of the Transport and Environment Committee on Thursday, November 13 2025.
By Joseph Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter
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The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) is a public service news agency. It is funded by the BBC, provided by the local news sector (in Edinburgh that is Reach plc (the publisher behind Edinburgh Live and The Daily Record) and used by many qualifying partners. Local Democracy Reporters cover news about top-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.
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