PHVs to be allowed in to Edinburgh’s pedestrianised George Street

Private hire vehicles will be allowed into Edinburgh’s pedestrianised George Street on a trial basis under the same conditions as black cabs.

The city centre street is due to become a largely traffic-free zone in a £36 million project which will see the current parking down the centre of the street removed, buses rerouted, pavements widened and the carriageway turned into a “cycle street” with vehicles treated as “guests”.

General traffic will be excluded between 10am and 7pm, Monday to Saturday, and between 12.30pm and 7pm on Sundays. But taxis will be allowed in to pick up and drop off disabled people during these hours - and now private hire cars will also be able to enter on the same conditions.

The council plans to set up a booking system to allow them access. Taxis and private hire cars will be allowed free access to the street between 7pm and 6am when other traffic is still excluded apart from other permitted vehicles such as delivery lorries.

Transport convener Scott Arthur said the decision had been based on feedback. “We had a consultation with people using the space and businesses - and there were a lot of concerns coming back on the safety of individuals in the evening, so we’re proposing to allow PHVs into the area on the same basis as black cabs on a trial basis.” He added: “It has not been an entirely easy decision because of the number of vehicles in the PHC fleet but we have to stress this is a trial.”

Regarding daytime access, Arthur said: “The focus is to support people with disabilities, so we’re going to set up some IT which would allow someone to book a PHV using their blue badge number or similar and that would allow the PHV to get access to George Street. The same would apply to black cabs.”

Work on the George Street project is due to start in late 2026 and be completed by late 2028. Streets that intersect with George Street are also included in the overall project.