Request ID: FOI-0370-2122 Date published: 21 June 2021
You asked
Please provide me with the following information for the period of July 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020.
• The number of complaints made against private hire drivers where driver fatigue is cited. This should include all complaints where drivers are alleged to have fallen asleep at the wheel, nodded off or are alleged to be too tired to drive. This should include all such complaints directly made to TfL and also all related adverse reports made to TfL by licensed operators.
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-0370-2122
Thank you for your request received on 22 May 2021 asking for information about complaints received regarding possible private hire driver fatigue between July and December 2020 (inclusive).
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.
As previously advised in our response to FOI-0204-2122, we do not separately record whether a complaint we have received relates to driver fatigue. We have done a search of complaints from 1 July 2020 to 31 December 2020 based on the following keywords:
There were a total of four such complaints during this period. Also, as per our last response, there may be other complaints that we have received that relate to ‘fatigue risk’ where none of the above keywords were mentioned.
In the period requested, between 1 July and 31 December 2020, we received a total of 4,811 notifications of complaint or driver dismissal from private hire operators. We would need to review each of these to determine if any related to driver fatigue.
As stated previously, 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 the rest of your request regarding reports from operators. 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.
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.
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
