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Posted on the 12th May 2025 in PHTM News
STIRLING PARKING WOES POTENTIALLY LINKED TO TAXI LICENCE SURGE
A recent increase in taxi numbers in Stirling is being eyed as a potential cause for growing parking problems in the city centre.
At a Stirling Council meeting, SNP Councillor Jim Thomson voiced concerns about "indiscriminate parking on Barnton Street, Murray Place and Station Road," attributing the issue to the lifting of the cap on taxi licences in 2023.
Councillor Thomson questioned the council's future plans, asking: "Is it the intention of the [planning and regulation] panel to review the decision on lifting the cap?”
He was informed that a further unmet demand survey, planned for later this year, would inform any decision on reinstating a cap on taxi numbers. Expressing pessimism, Councillor Thomson remarked: "Unfortunately I don’t know how we’re going to get the genie back in the bottle on this one.”
Conservative Councillor Neil Benny acknowledged that "the issue of the cap will be discussed as part of the unmet demand survey," while suggesting that parking issues could be addressed through broader taxi policy discussions.
"I look forward to hearing discussion on how we can use taxi policy to help with that enforcement as well," he added.
The cap on taxi licences for electric, hybrid, and wheelchair-accessible vehicles was removed in 2023 by the council's planning and regulation panel. This decision, aimed at meeting customer demand, followed a Stirling Taxi Unmet Demand Survey which indicated a significant need for more taxis in the city centre.
The panel also resolved that all taxis could operate across the Stirling Council area, removing previous restrictions on some licences that limited them to rural areas.
The council had previously consulted with taxi drivers, operators, and Police Scotland before making the change.
As taxi numbers were expected to rise, the council also sought public input on the location of a new night-time taxi rank in the city centre, with Port Street being a primary consideration.
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