Our Ref:         FOI-0899-2021

Thank you for your request received on 24 August 2020 asking for information about the total amount of money spent by TfL on taxis.
 
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm we do hold the information you require. You asked:
 
1.    Please can you provide me with the total amount of money spent by TfL on Taxis in the following years:
 
Information for taxis claimed through expenses was provided in our response to FOI-0710-2021. The information below relates to scheduled taxi services (which run on pre-determined routes at key locations) to provide transport to London Underground staff to and from their place of work outside of tube operating hours, which are in the early hours of the morning, when there is a significantly reduced transport system. The fewest possible journeys are used for up to five staff members using each cab, with multiple pick-ups and drop-offs wherever possible.
 
This arrangement means that critical operational staff can get to key locations such as depots, stations and control centres for the start of service minimising the risk of trains being cancelled or delayed, or stations not opening on time, which would lead to significant disruption for Transport for London passengers. The average cost of these journeys is around £43.
 
  Total Amount (£)
2015/16 £4.1m
2016/17 £3.5m
2017/18 £4.2m
2018/19 £3.7m
2019/20 £3.9m

2. What were the top 5 most expensive taxi journeys that TfL spent money on in the 2019/20 year?
Ad hoc taxi services are used for unforeseen and emergency circumstances. Please find below the five most expensive single journeys claimed through our staff taxi contract:
 
Pickup Address Destination Address Cost Reason for Taxi
Harrow On The Hill Underground Station, Harrow HA1 1BB Newark £510.95 Train Operator’s return home after person under train incident 
LUL, BRIXTON, Brixton Rd, London SW9 8HE Newark £562.77 Train Operator’s return home after person under train incident 
Aylesbury 200 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 9TJ £582.64 Convey a Member of staff to a company medical as they were unable to use public transport due to their condition 
LUL, 10B WOOD LANE, Wood La, London W12 7DP Doncaster £743.80 Travel to and from work for multiple staff for when no public transport was available 
Doncaster LUL, ST. JAMES'S PARK, Broadway, London SW1H 0XH £832.44 Travel to and from work for multiple operational staff for when no public transport was available 
 
A large number of staff live along the East Coast Mainline, in towns such as Newark and Doncaster, because of legacy staff travel arrangements prior to the privatisation of British Rail. When the East Coast Main Line was electrified travel time into London was within 45 minutes from Peterborough and 1 hour 45 minutes from Doncaster. During the Christmas/Boxing Day period when there are no National Rail Services, staff taxis are sometimes used to commute to work.
 
As stated above, the fewest possible journeys are used for up to five staff members using each taxi, with multiple pick-ups and drop-offs wherever possible. The two most expensive journeys listed above would have been for multiple staff and would have been on pre-determined routes to key locations.
 
Information on the five most expensive journeys claimed through our expense process was provided in our response to FOI-0710-2021.
 
If this is not the information you are looking for please feel free to contact me.
 
The impact of current circumstances on TfL’s resources means we are not able to answer FOI requests readily and we ask that you please do not make a request to us at present.
 
Answering FOI requests will require the use of limited resources and the attention of staff who could be supporting other essential activity. In any event, please note that our response time will be affected by the current situation.
 
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]