Thursday May 7th 2026
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Joe Sullivan
A new council taxi and private hire testing centre that has run £1.3m over budget and is more than a year late is finally set to open.
According to reports before councillors at Monday’s regulatory committee meeting, the centre is to open in May or June, after final ‘snagging lists’ are worked out.
In November last year, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported that the centre was well over its £1m budget, and that it had missed a target to open during 2024.
Costs had escalated over the prior two years, with both the price and the timeline attributed to a range of factors.
These included problematic concrete work needing to be redone, and issues with supplying the facility with enough power.
Taxi industry insiders have long said the new centre is sorely needed, given capacity restrictions at the Murrayburn facility.
Edinburgh’s current test centre has been limited to two ramps capable of carrying out full vehicle inspections since November 2022 due to concerns over roof safety.
Capacity shortages caused by the part-closure have forced overtime working in order to meet demand for over 4,000 tests of Edinburgh vehicles every year.
Licensed vehicles in East Lothian and Midlothian are also tested at the Murrayburn facility.
According to plans published by the council in 2021, the new site is set to feature four ramps, along with office space and spaces for training.
In November of last year, the council told the LDRS that wait times for new vehicle tests were holding steady at eight weeks, and that other types of tests were not facing delays.
They added that other types of test were not facing delays, and that vehicles needing retests and drivers not attending bookings were contributing to the new vehicle test delays.
In one report before councillors on Monday, officers stated that applications were ‘most likely to be processed for consultation’ within the seven-day timescale.
But they added that issues with ramp capacity, increasing vehicle fail rates and compliance with mandatory driver training were affecting the completion time for applications.
One report for Monday’s meeting states that the keys for the site have now been handed over to the council, and that both the testing centres will operate concurrently for a time.
Another report states that a full switchover of operations to the new site in South Gyle from the old one at Murrayburn will be completed during the summer.
A report to the council’s regulatory committee in February 2023 stated ‘securing’ the new facility would cost about £1m.
But by August that year, another report placed the project’s cost at an estimated £1.56m – while adding the council’s taxi examination operations would move to the new centre in 2024.
The report attributed the cost increase to inflation and new cost estimates for equipment purchase.
Almost a year and a half later, in January 2025, an update to the same committee stated the site would be ready for use early this year.
In May 2025, a report concluded the ‘fitout’ of the new centre would be completed by the end of that month – but said the price was now £2.1m.
By September of that year, another finance report confirmed the total price had climbed to £2.3m – though it included no information on when the site would open, with it still closed at time of press.
In November, the council said the original cost was calculated based on pre-covid estimates, and the £2.1m cost listed in May was reached in 2024 after a procurement exercise was finished.
Edinburgh Council was approached for comment.
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