Posted on the 5th November 2025 in PHTM News

EDINBURGH TO REVIEW BUS LANE ACCESS FOR PRIVATE HIRE VEHICLES AMID OPPOSITION

Edinburgh councillors are set to review proposals that could allow private hire vehicles to use the city's bus lanes and bus gates, though a decision is currently recommended to be delayed.

A report before the city’s transport meeting next Thursday asks councillors to look at opening up bus lanes to PHVs, which would overturn a long-standing council policy dating back to the 1990s. Council officers, however, recommend that any final decision be postponed until several major city centre mobility projects and traffic studies are complete.

The report also calls for a review of all current bus gates in Edinburgh to determine where it might be appropriate to grant access to PHVs, alongside black cabs. Currently, most bus gates are closed to black cabs, and all are shut to private hire vehicles.

Transport Convener Cllr Stephen Jenkinson has voiced his opposition to the main proposal, stating that opening bus lanes to more traffic would defeat their purpose.

“My opinion is that it should be maintained and upheld, and that the current restrictions should continue,” Cllr Jenkinson said. “If you’ve got a bus priority measure, and you’re really pushing for people to use and see bus as an option for them to get around – I think that would negate the use of it in the first place.”

He acknowledged that the council has “been asked multiple times by the industry to change the policy, we’ve held firm on that as a committee, as a council under various administrations.”

The debate pits different transport sectors against each other:

  • Bus operators are concerned that opening bus lanes to the estimated 3,000 private hire vehicles in the city could lead to possible increases in journey times and additional queuing at junctions.

  • Cycling representatives are against the proposal due to safety concerns, as bicycles currently share bus lanes.

  • The private hire industry argues that the current rules create an unfair operating environment and that traffic delays often result in higher fares for customers.

Council officers did concede in the report that PHVs "provide travel options for city residents who are unable to use the bus and who do not have access to a vehicle of their own."

Regarding bus gates—described in the report as “short lengths of bus lane that are an effective way to restrict access to certain streets”—Cllr Jenkinson said it would be valuable to explore how they could be used more efficiently to assist both taxi and private hire drivers.

Initial trials are being proposed, including a new bus gate on Market Street which will allow PHV access, and potential limited access at certain times in the pending George Street and First New Town project.

Councillors will consider the report at the Transport and Environment Committee meeting on Thursday, November 13, 2025.


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