Request ID: FOI-0204-2122 Date published: 27 May 2021
You asked
Please can you provide me with the following information:
• the number of instances of licensed private hire driver complaints forwarded to TfL either directly by passengers or by licensed operators where fatigue risk is identified. This could be allegations of drivers falling asleep, being fatigued, driving in a way that suggests tiredness.
Please provide this information for the period of 2019 and 2020 separately.
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-0204-2122
Thank you for your request received on 1 May 2021 asking for information about complaints received regarding possible private hire driver fatigue.
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 we do hold the information you require.
In the interest of passenger and driver safety, which is paramount, taxi and private hire drivers have a responsibility to not drive when tired, as advised in the Highway Code. It is essential that all licensed drivers work in accordance with this and do not put themselves and passengers at risk. We encourage all licensed drivers to take regular breaks and be mindful of the hours they have worked. All private hire operators are required to ensure appropriate safety measures are in place, this would include safeguarding against tired and dangerous driving.
To provide the information you have requested would exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ of £450 set by the Freedom of Information (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.
Under section 12 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to comply with a request if we estimate that the cost of determining whether we hold the information, locating and retrieving it and extracting it from other information would exceed the appropriate limit. This is calculated at £25 per hour for every hour spent on the activities described.
We have estimated that it would cost over £450 to provide a response to your current request. This is because it is estimated that it would take in excess of 18 working hours to retrieve and compile the information you have requested.
We do not separately record whether a complaint we have received relates to driver fatigue. In order to provide the requested information we would need to review all of the complaints we have received during the requested period in order to ascertain whether they were captured by your request.
We have done a preliminary search of complaints made during 2019-2020 based on the following keywords:
There were 201 customer complaints, all of which would need to be reviewed. However based on a quick analysis of a sample of these cases it is likely that these are not all regarding the drivers but the customers themselves. There may also be other complaints we have received that relate to ‘fatigue risk’ where none of the above keywords were mentioned. For example, there could be instances where customers stated they thought the driver closed their eyes or “nodded off” while they were in their vehicle.
To help bring the cost of responding to your request within the £450 limit, you may wish to consider narrowing its scope so that we can more easily locate, retrieve and extract the information you are seeking. If you want to refine your request or make a Freedom of Information Act request in future, please bear in mind that the Freedom of Information Act allows you to request recorded information held by Transport for London. You should identify the information that you want as clearly and concisely as you can, specifying the types of document that you are looking for. You might consider limiting your request to a smaller time period or asking for specific terms that we can search against.
To help bring the cost of responding to your request within the £450 limit, you may wish to consider narrowing its scope so that we can more easily locate, retrieve and extract the information you are seeking, for example by narrowing the time period. We are currently processing your request received on 22 May 2021 and will provide a response in due course.
If you want to refine your request further or make a Freedom of Information Act request in future, please bear in mind that the Freedom of Information Act allows you to request recorded information held by Transport for London.
Although your request can take the form of a question, rather than a request for specific documents, TfL does not have to answer your question if it would require the creation of new information or the provision of a judgement, explanation, advice or opinion that was not already recorded at the time of your request.
Please note that we will not be taking further action until we receive your revised request.
In the meantime, if you have any queries or would like to discuss your request, 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
