Request ID: FOI-0903-2324 Date published: 19 July 2023
You asked
I am emailing you with regard to the increasing level of congestion on London roads even though the use and ownership of private cars is reducing.
What I am sure you will be aware of, along with many other Londoners is that there are many times during the week, and particularly at weekends where almost every other car (estimate 50%) is an UBER’s/private hire vehicle, many of which are empty and just driving around aimlessly being ungreen and congestion inducing whilst they wait for yet another “ride”. Part of this problem of course derives from the fact that there is no ‘cap’ on the number of UBER licences that are issued, which leads to more cars and congestion, and less ride opportunities for the drivers themselves.
The reason I am emailing is to ask TFL for answers to the following FOI questions as this is information you must have available as it would have formed part of and will continue to form part of your road strategy decision process.
If you do not have the information to answer all the questions below then I am sure you can and are entitled to ask for it from UBER.
1) How many UBER licences are current and in issue?
2) How many UBER licences were current and in issue 5 years ago for comparison purposes?
3) Do you know what percentage of cars on the road in Central London are UBER/private hire vehicles versus privately owned vehicles?
4) What percentage of time spent on the road by UBERS is time where a passenger is actually in the UBER versus when the UBERS are driving around empty? This could be analyses as fee earning time versus non fee earning time which I am confident will all be part of the detailed data analysis that UBER carry out.
5) Are there plans being made to place a numbers cap on the number of UBER licences being issued to stop the increasing congestion they are clearly causing, whilst also taking away invaluable (and greener) passenger traffic for the buses and the London Underground which in turn adds to TFL’s budget deficit?
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-0903-2324
Thank you for your request received on 22 June 2023 asking for information about private hire vehicles (PHV) in London.
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 that we hold some of the information you require. You asked:
1) How many UBER licences are current and in issue? 2) How many UBER licences were current and in issue 5 years ago for comparison purposes?
Information on how many licences have been issued is available on our website, the data includes current and historic licensing:
4) What percentage of time spent on the road by UBERS is time where a passenger is actually in the UBER versus when the UBERS are driving around empty? This could be analyses as fee earning time versus non fee earning time which I am confident will all be part of the detailed data analysis that UBER carry out.
We do not hold this data. The information may be held by UBER, however we do not have access to it.
5) Are there plans being made to place a numbers cap on the number of UBER licences being issued to stop the increasing congestion they are clearly causing, whilst also taking away invaluable (and greener) passenger traffic for the buses and the London Underground which in turn adds to TFL’s budget deficit?
TfL, along with the Mayor, have lobbied Government for the ability to cap licence numbers as legislation would be required, subject to a public interest test. TfL was an active participant in a DfT-commissioned Task and Finish Group on taxi and PHV licensing that also recommended this course of action (Recommendation 8). The Government was clear in its response to the Task and Finish Group that it did not intend to take this recommendation forward. If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, 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
