Thank you for your email received by us on 14 August 2017 asking for information about private hire vehicles (PHVs).

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and our Information Access Policy. You asked:

Please could you inform me, in 2017 how many PHV licensees have had conditions placed on their licence restricting them from hiring/leasing PHVs to general members of the public (not a licensed ph driver) & supply me with the names of any companies with these restrictions.

Legislation in London allows licensed PHVs to be used for private purposes; they can therefore also be driven by unlicensed drivers. It is not a regulatory requirement for vehicle owners, whether individuals or companies, to inform us when a PHV is used by a non-licensed driver for private use, nor do they need to request permission to do so. For this reason there are no conditions restricting leasing of PHVs to general members of the public at this time. However, if we are notified of a specific concern around a particular vehicle, we will take appropriate action. 

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