The Edinburgh Taxi Drivers Outing is a fabulous day out for the children who are invited along as well as all the taxi drivers who decorate their vehicles and members of the public who enjoy the spectacle.
Now its very future is under threat.
Keith Bell has written to The Edinburgh Reporter saying that as it stands the event will have to be cancelled.
Anyone affected is encouraged to write to their local politicians to obtain an exemption for the outing, to ensure it can go ahead in June as planned.
He writes: 78th Edinburgh Taxi Outing – 9th June 2026
Following a planning meeting with City of Edinburgh Council and Police Scotland, we were informed of a policy change from the National Police Chiefs Council that Police Officers can no longer escort events such as ours through the streets on Edinburgh and East Lothian.
Police Scotland offered to support us with static support along Princes Street, the Royal Mile and then through Holyrood Park to Meadowbank, but we would need to sit in the general traffic for the rest of the route, stopping at red traffic lights, junctions, etc as well as the general congestion within Edinburgh.
Given that it takes approximately 6 minutes for the convoy to pass a static point, it would take about 10 minutes for us all to navigate the first set of lights at Western Corner. When we get to Roseburn, the inside lane will be blocked due to parked vehicles and if the first couple of vehicles are waiting to turn right towards Murrayfield Stadium, you might manage 3-4 vehicles progressing towards Haymarket per green light.
The children participating on the Outing have a variety of needs and some will not manage to cope with sitting stationary for who knows how long waiting for the taxis at the back to catch up so, as our Number 1 priority has been, and always will be the comfort and safety of the children, we have reluctantly decided to cancel this year’s Outing.
I wish to make it clear that neither the City of Edinburgh Council nor Police Scotland are responsible for the new Policy. The Council and the Police have always supported us over the years with the Outing and the Outing would not have happened without the support of the Motorcycle Unit, and as that support has been withdrawn due to the new policy, we have had no option but to cancel the Outing.
There is what is known as the law of unintended consequences. I’m pretty sure that when the National Police Chief’s Council were discussing the creation of their policy, they wouldn’t have known about the Edinburgh Taxi Outing, as the lead of the organisation is the Chief Constable of Cheshire, but the result of their policy is that an event for children with additional needs that has been in force since 1947 is now no more.
I will be encouraging any who feels so motivated to contact their MPs, MSPs and Councillors to see whether they can obtain persuade the NPCC to grant an exemption from their policy for the Outing, bearing in mind that policing within the UK is by the consent of the public, and if the public don’t consent to this change, then maybe it can be reconsidered.
Yours
- Keith J Bell
- Secretary
- Edinburgh Taxi Outing Committee
