PROTEST PLIGHT
EDINBURGH TAXI DRIVERS HAND OVER PETITION CALLING FOR CAP ON PHV NUMBERS IN THE CITY
On 10 July scores of black cabs lined the streets outside Edin- burgh City Chambers 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 gained 1,764 signatures. The petition is calling for a cap on PHVs, 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 profes- sion that thousands depend on.” 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 PHVs in the city. Speaking outside the city chambers, he said: “This petition was created to cap the amount of PHVs 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 (SPHA).” 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 PH drivers
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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: “Right now we’re sitting at around three to four PHVs to every black cab which is affecting business not only for the black cab trades, it’s also the PH 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.” David says this has been a long time coming and they’ve felt ignored at council level until now. He added: “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 says he feels PH 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: “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 and tired drivers equals public safety risk. “It’s getting out of control and it’s going to take something really bad to happen until somebody starts taking action.” Scott claims drivers work 16-hour plus shifts 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. Cllr Neil Ross, regulatory convener, said: “We reviewed the number of PHCs in January 2025. We have received a petition on this issue, and it will be addressed under the council’s petition process. We maintains regular contact with the relevant trade groups and will continue to listen to their feedback.”
AUGUST 2025 PHTM
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