Licensing Conditions for Taxis, Private Hire Cars (PHC) and Taxi & PHC Drivers

Overview

The City of Edinburgh Council, having exercised its powers to license taxis, Private Hire Cars (PHCs) and their drivers, has adopted licensing conditions which enable it to manage and control their operation within Edinburgh.

Licensed taxis and PHCs are required to comply with the conditions laid down in the booklet entitled ‘Licensing Conditions for Taxis, Private Hire Cars and their Drivers’.  These conditions date from 20 June 2006, and were last amended on 9 December 2009. It is essential that the conditions are accurate and relevant, because a breach of licensing conditions is a criminal offence and may lead to a suspension of licence.

Council officers have conducted a review of existing licensing conditions and have identified a number of changes to policy and conditions that have occurred since that date.  In addition, the operation and management of the Taxi Examination Centre transferred from Police Scotland to the Council on 1 November 2014.

The review looked at the conditions for both taxis and PHC’s and updates previous policy amendments and changes into one document and updates legislative changes and practice.

The review also identified a number of conditions which no longer reflected common practise or legislative changes, including:

• the role of the Cab Inspector;
• the Taxi Examination Centre;
• wheel chair accessible vehicles;
• assistance dogs;
• drivers’ medicals; and
• medical exemption certificates.

Why your views matter

While there are no significant changes or amendments to the conditions that would place an unreasonable burden on the trade, the Council welcomes your views on the revised conditions for the city’s taxi and private hire vehicles and drivers. 

You can download a copy of the proposed conditions. The main changes to the conditions have been highlighted in yellow for ease of reference.