Taxi and Private Hire Demand Survey 2021

Overview

City of Edinburgh Council is undertaking a survey in Edinburgh to determine whether there are sufficient taxis in the city.  This survey is also collecting views on whether the number of Private Hire Cars should be limited across the City.  In addition your views are requested about your satisfaction with the current taxi and PH market.

Why your views matter

1. The Council currently operates a limitation on the number of taxis licensed in the city using powers under Section 10 (3) of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982..
   1. The limitation policy has been in place since the early 90s and is reviewed on a 3-yearly cycle.
   2. The three yearly reviews are underpinned by interim demand surveys to make sure there is no significant unmet demand.
   3. The current limit is 1,316 and this number has been stable since 2012.
2. The Council passed a motion in October 2019 calling for an assessment of ‘overprovision’ of Private Hire Cars (PHCs) in the City following the change to the Act in 2017 which allows the Council to limit the number of PHCs if it is satisfied that there is overprovision.
   1. The number of PHCs has risen since 2013 from under 1,000 to now 2,500. This increase continues but at a slower rate.
   2. The Council has not previously assessed or reached a conclusion about ‘overprovision’.

What happens next

Results of this research will be reported to the Regulatory Committee.