Uber and taxis in Edinburgh
The airport rank is not a walk-up. Capital Cars runs it as the airport's official partner, and a booking is required even when you are standing at the rank, to satisfy the council's private hire licensing rules. Book online first or book on arrival there. Uber carries its own catch: its Taxi category cannot be requested for airport rides at all, so it is UberX or UberXL instead. Tickets, passes and contactless are on the Edinburgh page.
Licensed taxis
Taxi
- How you pay
- Cards at some.
i
edinburgh.gov.uk fetched 25 Jul 2026 - How you get one
- Street hail or rank.
- Cost
- Metered.
- Worth knowing
- Fares are reviewed by the Council at a minimum 18-month cadence (Taxi fares in Edinburgh page).
i
edinburgh.gov.uk fetched 25 Jul 2026
Capital Carscapitalcarsscotland.co.uk
- How you pay
- Takes cash. Cards at some. On-Line booking will allow you to Pay cash on the day, pay in advance by card, or place a booking on your account.
i
capitalcarsscotland.co.uk fetched 25 Jul 2026capitalcarsscotland.co.uk fetched 11 Aug 2026 - How you get one
- App, phone or rank.
- Cost
- Metered.
- Worth knowing
- A booking is required for Capital Cars pickups at the airport specifically 'to ensure compliance with the City of Edinburgh Council's private hire licensing rules' - i.e. walk-up/street-hail is not available even at the dedicated rank; riders must book online or on arrival at the rank.
i
capitalcarsscotland.co.uk fetched 25 Jul 2026capitalcarsscotland.co.uk fetched 11 Aug 2026
Ride apps licensed here
Uberuber.com
- How you pay
- Takes payment in the app and cash. In-app card payment is the default; Uber UK's help centre confirms cash is also selectable as a payment method, settled directly with the driver at trip end.
i
uber.com fetched 25 Jul 2026help.uber.com fetched 25 Jul 2026 - How you get one
- In the app.
- Cost
- Upfront price shown in the app before you book.
- Worth knowing
- Uber's own Edinburgh city page confirms coverage with UberX (standard) and UberXL (available for groups of up to 6 people) as core products, plus Group Rides (multiple pickup/dropoff spots), Uber Shuttle, and Reserved Rides (bookable up to 30 days in advance).
i
uber.com fetched 25 Jul 2026help.uber.com fetched 25 Jul 2026
Boltbolt.eu
- How you pay
- Takes payment in the app. In-app payment via linked Mastercard/Visa/AmEx card (AmEx Euro-zone only); Bolt's own payment-method-management page lists only card options, no cash add-option shown.
i
bolt.eu fetched 25 Jul 2026 - How you get one
- In the app.
- Cost
- Upfront price shown in the app before you book.
- Worth knowing
- Bolt's own Edinburgh city page confirms service with ride categories Standard (1-4 passengers), Comfort, Executive, XL (seats 6), Pets (1-3 passengers), plus driver/rider-set-pricing Flex variants (Flex, Flex XL, Flex Comfort).
i
bolt.eu fetched 25 Jul 2026
FreeNowfree-now.com
- How you pay
- Takes payment in the app. 'All payments for Freenow Ride and EV Ride (PHV, private car) bookings are handled directly through the app using your linked card, Apple Pay, or PayPal.
i
free-now.com fetched 25 Jul 2026support.free-now.com fetched 25 Jul 2026 - How you get one
- In the app.
- Cost
- Upfront price shown in the app before you book.
- Worth knowing
- The airport pickup point for FreeNow drivers is fixed at the multi-storey car park regardless of queue position: Drivers must remain within a marked waiting area to keep their place in the virtual queue and are removed if they leave it; the feature requires restarting the driver app to activate.
i
free-now.com fetched 25 Jul 2026support.free-now.com fetched 25 Jul 2026
What is not recorded
- Whether Taxi takes cash is not recorded. Ask before you set off, and carry cash in case the car doesn't take cards.
- No published tariff is recorded for Taxi and Capital Cars. Ask for an estimate before you set off, and check the meter is running.