Edinburgh will explore a congestion charge following a proposal introduced by the Green group on the council.
A Green amendment at the council’s transport committee on Thursday asked for dialogue with other councils on the issue – and the proposal was agreed to by other political parties.
The decision came after a committee report which proposed the pausing of certain projects to improve mobility and active travel around the city, citing lack of budget available.
Road user charging could include measures like congestion charging, toll roads or a commuter charge, and is one mechanism that local authorities could use to raise funds to spend on transport measures. These could include measures such as bus lanes, pavement improvements and cycle paths.
After the meeting Cllr Chas Booth said: “I’m delighted Edinburgh has agreed to start conversations about congestion charging with other councils. It’s absolutely clear that Edinburgh will not meet its commitments to address the climate emergency unless we take bold action to encourage people to choose more sustainable alternatives to the private car. That means improving buses and safe cycling routes, but it also means discouraging people from using their car.
“One option available to do this is congestion charging, which has worked successfully in London for decades, and Stockholm, Singapore, Milan and most recently New York City where the scheme has been a massive success.
“While the council doesn’t yet have the full powers to introduce congestion charging, and any Edinburgh scheme is likely to be many years away, it is nonetheless right that we start talking about what a scheme might look like, whether we have any common ground with Glasgow which is also considering a scheme, and with surrounding councils about how we can ensure an equitable distribution of any income from the scheme to support sustainable commuting into Edinburgh.”
The Green amendment asked for “preliminary discussions on Edinburgh to explore congestion charge following Green initiative”.
It comes after research published by Transport Scotland in 2024 recommended a ‘framework’ for introduction of any road user charging scheme, which could “include the adoption of common legal, organisational, contractual, commercial, procedural and technical standards” for the delivery of such a scheme there is common ground in our approach to road user charging” with Glasgow City Council, which is also considering introducing a charge, and with the neighbouring councils to Edinburgh. The amendment was supported by Labour and SNP as well as Green councillors, and was agreed by committee.
The Edinburgh Reporter interviewed Cllr Booth ahead of the meeting on Thursday morning:
Cllr Chas Booth is lodging a motion with the Transport Committee to try and change the timeline of active travel projects – and says it is not just all about money
— The Edinburgh Reporter (@edinreporter.bsky.social) 22 May 2025 at 11:24
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