Request ID: FOI-0216-2122 Date published: 27 May 2021
You asked
I write to you regarding the safety of taxis and private hire vehicles, which you regulate. My concern is around crimes committed by operators of these vehicle on passengers and also crimes committed by passengers against operators of these vehicles
I therefore request the following information regarding my concerns. The information I request surrounds the period from June 2010 to the current date.
1. How many physical assaults were recorded against taxi and private hire drivers by customers? Please give the yearly figures.
2. How many physical assaults were committed by taxi and private hire drivers against customers? Please give yearly figures.
3. How many taxi and private hire drivers have been prosecuted by TFL? Please list the offences?
4. How many taxi and private hire drivers are caught operating without a valid taxi operators licence or a valid private hire drivers license?
5. How many sex crimes have been committed against customers by taxi or private hire vehicle drivers, but could not be prosecuted because the drivers were untraceable as their vehicle was not registered for taxi or private hire activity and they themselves did not have a taxi or private hire drivers license?
6. How many taxi or private hire drivers have lost their licenses for discrimination against disable customers? For example refusing to carry a blind customer with a guide dog or refusing a wheelchair user etc.
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-0216-2122
Thank you for your request received on 4 May 2021 asking for information about the safety of taxi and private hire vehicles (PHVs).
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the [Freedom of Information Act (FOI) Act and our information access policy. I can confirm we hold some of the information you require.
1. How many physical assaults were recorded against taxi and private hire drivers by customers? Please give the yearly figures. 2. How many physical assaults were committed by taxi and private hire drivers against customers? Please give yearly figures. 3. How many taxi and private hire drivers have been prosecuted by TFL? Please list the offences? 4. How many taxi and private hire drivers are caught operating without a valid taxi operators licence or a valid private hire driver’s license? 5. How many sex crimes have been committed against customers by taxi or private hire vehicle drivers, but could not be prosecuted because the drivers were untraceable as their vehicle was not registered for taxi or private hire activity and they themselves did not have a taxi or private hire driver’s license? 6. How many taxi or private hire drivers have lost their licenses for discrimination against disable customers? For example refusing to carry a blind customer with a guide dog or refusing a wheelchair user etc.
Information on assaults committed on or by taxi and private hire drivers would be for the police to investigate. Requests for this information should be made to the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) via their website: https://www.met.police.uk/rqo/request/ri/request-information/rip/request-information-police/.
However, to locate, extract and collate any of the information held by TfL that 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 in excess of £450 to provide a response to the remainder of your current request. This is because it is estimated that it would take over 18 working hours to retrieve and compile the information you have requested.
Please note that we do not categorise drivers by taxi or private hire drivers for prosecution purposes. The prosecution data we hold could be for drivers, operators, or completely unlicensed drivers. There have been over 1,000 prosecutions in the requested period, we would need to look at each prosecution to determine whether they were a taxi or private hire driver. Further, we would need to review a significant volume of complaints data and/or driver file data to determine any allegations we hold on record over the past 11 years and this would further increase the time required to process this request. However we would recommend submitting a request for crime data to the Metropolitan Police, as above.
We do publish some information on journey-related sexual offences on our website that you may find useful: https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/safety-and-security/security-on-the-network/tph-related-sexual-offences
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 us. 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 also consider limiting the time period which you have requested the information for.
Although your request can take the form of a question, rather than a request for specific documents, we do 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
