FOI request detail

Freedom of Information request - Total number of Private Hire licences issued, in particular 'Uber'

Request ID: FOI-0046-2324
Date published: 09 May 2023

You asked

Dear Transport for London, Please provide the following: a) Total number of 'private hire' licences issued in Greater London between 01 Apr 2013 and 31 Mar 2023; b) Total number of current (active) licences (again Greater London) as at: 31 Mar 2014, 31 Mar 2015, 31 Mar 2016, 31 Mar 2017, 31 Mar 2018, 31 Mar 2019, 31 Mar 2020, 31 Mar 2021, 31 Mar 2022 and 31 Mar 2023. If your annual data covers any period different to the above, I am happy to receive your datasets in line with your records as long as it is for the last ten available years to 31 Mar 2023. c) How many of the active licences are 'Uber'? d) Volume of overall traffic / vehicles counted on the A 503 (Camden Town to Holloway Road only) and the A 1 (Highbury and Islington to Archway only) in each of the last 10 years.

We answered

Our Ref:         FOI-0046-2324/GH

Thank you for your request received on 31 March 2023 asking for information about private hire licences.
 
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we do hold the information you require. You asked for:

a)         Total number of 'private hire' licences issued in Greater London between 01 Apr 2013 and 31 Mar 2023

Please find the requested information in the table below:
 
Number of private hire licences issued
YearNewRenewal
2013808213753
20141734716332
20152895215188
20162909517222
20171003120968
2018817526414
20191662828939
2020741322619
2021353924839
2022960231945
2023 to April62317872

b)         Total number of current (active) licences (again Greater London) as at:
31 Mar 2014, 31 Mar 2015, 31 Mar 2016, 31 Mar 2017, 31 Mar 2018, 31 Mar 2019, 31 Mar 2020, 31 Mar 2021, 31 Mar 2022 and 31 Mar 2023.
If your annual data covers any period different to the above, I am happy to receive your datasets in line with your records as long as it is for the last ten available years to 31 Mar 2023.

In addition to a range of licensing information we regularly publish a snapshot of the number of current taxi and private hire licences at the end of our financial year which falls on 31 March on our website:

https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/taxis-and-private-hire/licensing/licensing-information

Under section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act, we are not obliged to provide you with information which is reasonably accessible by other means.

c)         How many of the active licences are 'Uber'?

In accordance with the FOI Act we are not obliged to supply information on the number of active licences that are registered as Uber drivers as this is subject to a statutory exemption to the right of access to information under section 43(2) and section 41 of the FOI Act.
 
In this instance section 43(2) exemption has been applied as it could prejudice their commercial interests. Disclosure of this information would enable rival companies to have an insight into any operator’s business model by allowing them to calculate the size of an operator’s fleet, and thus undermine their position in the competitive market place.
 
The use of this exemption is subject to an assessment of the public interest in relation to the disclosure of the information concerned. We recognise the need for openness and transparency by public authorities, but in this instance feel that the balance lies in favour of withholding the information to ensure that private hire operators can continue to be able to operate effectively without being placed at a commercial disadvantage. Please refer to the Decision Notice issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office for further details: https://ico.org.uk/media/action-weve-taken/decision-notices/2017/2172517/fs50676040.pdf.

Section 41 has also been applied as this information was provided to us in confidence by each operator. We consider that this information possesses the necessary quality of confidence as it was submitted under an understanding that it would be held in confidence. As stated above, the information could undermine every operator’s commercial interests if it were to be released into the public domain. It could also have an adverse effect on the flow of accurate information to TfL as private hire companies could be reluctant to provide us with the number of drivers and vehicles registered to them given the likely commercial repercussions to their trade.

Since section 41 is an absolute exemption, as such we have not gone on to consider the balance of the public interest, except to the extent of noting that there is no special public interest in disclosure of this information that would justify a breach of confidence in this case.

d)         Volume of overall traffic / vehicles counted on the A 503 (Camden Town to Holloway Road only) and the A 1 (Highbury and Islington to Archway only) in each of the last 10 years.

This information was provided in response to a recent FOI request:

The annual average daily flow estimates for all major road links, including the A503 and A1, are available through the Department for Transport (DfT) National Road Traffic Count programme. The information can be downloaded from the DfT’s website:

https://roadtraffic.dft.gov.uk/#6/55.254/-6.053/basemap-regions-countpoints

Under section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act, we are not obliged to provide you with information which is reasonably accessible by other means.

If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
 
Yours sincerely
 
Gemma Jacob
Senior FOI Case Officer
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London
 
[email protected]

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