Thank you for your email received on 31 May 2017 asking for information about private hire operator licences. Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our Information Access Policy. I can confirm that we hold the information you require. You asked:

For a 6 month period prior to today, how many PHV operators licences have been issued/renewed valid for a period other than the usual 5 year period?

I can confirm that 89 private hire operator licences were issued for a duration of less then five years in the six months prior to 31 May 2017.

We have the statutory discretion to decide how long an operator's licence should last, up to a maximum of five years, based on the circumstances of each individual case. We take into account all the circumstances of an application, including the possibility of future regulatory changes, when considering the length of any licence issued.

Further details can be found by visiting our website at: www.tfl.gov.uk/tph.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.

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

Yours sincerely

Jasmine Howard
FOI Case Officer
Information Governance
Transport For London