Dozens of black cab taxi drivers meet to hand over petition calling on council to cap private hire vehicles

Scores of black cab taxi drivers met today with the Lord Provost to hand over a petition to call on the council to cap the number of private hire taxi licenses in Edinburgh.

Black cabs lined the streets outside Edinburgh City Chambers today as taxi driver Keith Auld, 44, handed over his petition - ‘Cap number of Private Hire Vehicles in Edinburgh so everyone can make a living’ - which has garnered 1,764 signatures.

The petition is calling for a cap on private hire vehicles, like the one which limits the number of black cabs that can operate in the city.

Keith’s petition says that this “dilution” of taxis in Edinburgh is leading to a fall in the quality and professionalism of the trade in the city, which he said “is ultimately going to lead to somebody getting seriously hurt or even killed”.

The petition also says: “It's not just about inconvenience; it's about the sustainability of an entire profession that thousands depend on.”

Taxi drivers meet outside the City Chambers to show support for the petition being handed over | Rachel Keenan

He believes there are 1,111 active black cabs in Edinburgh with a cap of 1,300 which was set by the council. However, he claims there are currently between 2,400 and 2,700 private hire vehicles in the city.

Speaking outside the city chambers, he said: “This is the culmination of two months' work in regard to a petition that was created first of all to cap the amount of private hire so everyone in the trade can make a living.

“On the road to where we are now we’ve brought on many stakeholders and the last one to come on board was the Scottish Private Hire Association.”

The concerns coming from black cab drivers are that while they are heavily regulated through Edinburgh council, including having to stick to a meter for prices which is set by the council, private hire drivers don’t have the same regulations.

This means private hire drivers are able to offer much lower fares at unregulated price points separated from the council and their checks are through separate companies, usually the likes of Uber and Bolt.

David Horsburgh, 52, a clerk for the Association of Hackney Carriage Drivers, said: “The petition speaks for itself, we want a cap placed on the unregulated release of private hire licenses. It's just grown arms and legs, there's so many out there.

“Right now we’re sitting at around three to four private hire vehicles to every black cab which is affecting business not only for the black cab trades. This is where it's getting mistaken, it's not only us fighting for it it's also the private hire who are getting affected.

“Unfortunately there's only one business model that suits and that's the multi-corp, that's Uber in Edinburgh. The smaller local companies they're feeling the effect, they're cutting their costs. We can't really cut costs because we’re regulated by the council, every job we do is on the meter unless it's out of town.

“Uber don’t use meters, they undercut every fare that’s done and we just can’t compete. It’s great for the public only up to the time where they destroy the local industry. When we’re all gone, Uber will just hike their prices up and the public with suffer because they wont have the quality and they’ll be paying over the odds for every fare.”

David says this has been a long time coming and they’ve felt ignored at a council level up until now as all taxi drivers have come together to get this petition to the council.

He said: “Right now, we want a cap on it so everyone’s got a level playing field. We can all earn a good living without breaking the rules or having to fight each other.

“We’re not putting up with it anymore our voice has been raised, our heckles are up and we’re doing something about it.”

Representing the Scottish Private Hire Association, Scott Livingston, 36, says he feels private hire vehicle drivers and black cab taxi drivers are often “played off against each other”.

He said: “There’s lots of issues that people think about differently, and that's fine, but when there's something we can unite around which is public safety and providing a high level of service, which is what both trades want to do for the people of Edinburgh, we should be working together.”

He shared similar concerns as black cab drivers but his main concern is safety: “We have been asking for this for a long time for multiple reasons. Obviously there’s an economic argument, the more drivers there are, the more competition. But that’s not the approach we have taken to the council.

“The approach we’ve taken to the council is the only approach they can legislate on which is public safety. The more drivers there are, the more hours we have to work to make the same money that we used to and tired drivers equals public safety risk.

“It’s getting out of control out there and its a public safety risk and it’s going to take something really bad to happen until somebody starts taking action.”

Scott claims the public safety risk would be from drivers working 16 hour plus shift patterns through multiple apps. They will start using one app which logs you out after 10 hours to avoid this risk, but they will jump on a different app and start a new shift. For example drivers starting on Uber and jumping to Bolt after 10 hours.

He said: “You could be on 24 hours a day working. It’s a massive public safety risk and its going to take something tragic to happen until people in this building wake up and start realising they are responsible for that legislation.”

Councillor Neil Ross, regulatory convener, said: “We regularly review the number of PHCs in the city, most recently in January 2025. We have received a petition on this issue, and it will be addressed under the council’s petition process.

“The council maintains regular contact with the relevant trade groups and will continue to listen to their broader feedback.”

An Uber spokesperson said: “Private hire vehicles provide good earning opportunities for local drivers, give passengers greater transport options and support local businesses, in particular in the night time economy.

“All drivers have access to industry leading worker rights such as holiday pay and a pension, as well as formal representation through GMB Union. Passengers are able to count on a safe trip through a range of industry-leading safety features.”

A Bolt spokesperson said: "Black cabs, private hire vehicles, and all other modes of transport - including public transport - each play an important role in helping people in Edinburgh get around. Private hire vehicles aren’t here to replace black cabs, but offer an additional option for passengers whilst creating even more flexible earning opportunities for local drivers. Drivers and passengers are at the heart of what we do, and we support a balanced system that works for everyone.

"We are the only operator that enables drivers to set their own minimum pricing per mile and also take advantage of dynamic pricing. All drivers also receive holiday pay and monetary supplements to ensure they earn at least the national living wage, alongside a pension. Feedback is important to us, and we continue to engage with local forums directly."