1) Since June 26th 2018 (a) how many complaints have Transport for London received about Uber (b) what was the nature of those complaints? 2) What action has Transport for London taken to scrutinise Uber's adherence to the conditions laid down in the granting of a 15-month licence? 3) How many Breaches of Conditions laid down in the granting of Uber's 15-month licence have been reported, become apparent to, or investigated by Transport for London? 4) What was the nature of any breaches? 5) What action was taken by TfL (if any) of any breaches of the conditions of the probationary licence or the complaints (see question1)?

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Our Ref: FOI-1513-1920

Thank you for your request received on 20 August 2019 asking for information about Uber London Ltd (ULL).

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.    Since June 26th 2018 (a) how many complaints have Transport for London received about Uber (b) what was the nature of those complaints?

With more than 100,000 licensed private hire drivers and more than 23,000 licensed taxi drivers in London, millions of taxi and private hire journeys are made every year. The vast majority pass without incident but where a complaint is made we will investigate and take action as appropriate.

We have 822 complaints logged relating to Uber between 26 June 2018 – 20 August 2019 (date of request). Please note that the majority of these complaints relate to Uber drivers, and not the company itself. Please see the table below showing the categorisation assigned by our agents when recording the cases.

Contact reason	Complaints
Driver, Inappropriate Behaviour	242
Driver, Knowledge/Information	142
Driver, Overcharge	94
Driver, Dangerous driving	89
Driver, Intimidating/Threatening Behaviour	48
Driver, Devious/Unplanned Route	24
Driver, Fare Refusal	22
Driver, Fail to complete hiring	22
Driver, Touting	18
Lost Property, Left item (Lost Property)	12
Driver, Disability Discrimination (DDA)	11
Driver, Assault	10
Driver, Compliance with TFL Procedures	9
Driver, Offensive Behaviour	9
Driver, Attitude/Rude Behaviour	8
Driver, Racial/Homophobic Abuse	7
Driver, Guide Dog Refusal	5
Driver, Poor/Dangerous Driving	5
Driver, Other	5
Driver, Refuse Pick Up	3
Driver, Illegal parking / parking obstruction	3
Customer Service Centre, Complaint Handling	3
Driver, Plying for Hire Outside Area	3
Other service issues, Compliance with TFL Procedures	2
Driver, Violent Behaviour	2
TfL Policy, Other	2
Driver, Fares Issue	2
Other service issues, Other	2
Customer Service Centre, Knowledge/Information	1
Driver, Sexual Harassment	1
Safety support from TfL, Interventions	1
On-board: Built Environment, Ambience	1
Billing / Charging Issue, Other	1
Driver, Refusal to Admit Wheelchair	1
Revenue Inspector, Other	1
Other service issues, Failure to Arrive	1
TfL Policy, Compliance with TFL Procedures	1
Accidents, Other	1
Customer Service Centre, Offensive Behaviour	1
Driver, Smoking	1
Driver, Passenger behaviour	1
Billing / Charging Issue, Dispute Journey Fare	1
Refunds, Overcharge	1
Driver, Vehicle Compliance	1
Other, Other	1
Penalty Fares, Penalty Fares	1
Grand Total	822

Month	Complaints
Jun 18	22
Jul 18	100
Aug 18	51
Sep 18	50
Oct 18	68
Nov 18	72
Dec 18	89
Jan 19	53
Feb 19	40
Mar 19	48
Apr 19	43
May 19	44
Jun 19	63
Jul 19	54
Aug 19	25
Grand Total	822

2.    What action has Transport for London taken to scrutinise Uber's adherence to the conditions laid down in the granting of a 15-month licence?

3.    How many Breaches of Conditions laid down in the granting of Uber's 15-month licence have been reported, become apparent to, or investigated by Transport for London?

4.    What was the nature of any breaches?

5.    What action was taken by TfL (if any) of any breaches of the conditions of the probationary licence or the complaints (see question1)?

In accordance with the FOI Act, we are not obliged to supply the information requested as it is subject to a statutory exemption to the right of access to information under section 31(1)(g), which relates to information where disclosure would be likely to prejudice the exercise by any public authority of its functions for any of the purposes listed in subsection 31(2) of the FOI Act, specifically, ‘(2)(c)the purpose of ascertaining whether circumstances which would justify regulatory action in pursuance of any enactment exist or may arise’.

In this instance the exemption has been applied as the information is held only for the purposes of ascertaining whether a Private Hire operator is complying with the regulations, in accordance with our responsibility for regulating the private hire trade in London. This information contains details which otherwise would not have been made available to us and the exemption applies to protect our ability to clarify and confirm details on specific issues regarding general licensing concerns. The prejudice would be caused by disclosure because it would affect our ability to engage with the taxi and private hire trade and would inhibit the free flow of information, particularly where there is disclosure of information about confidential and commercially sensitive data. Effective working between the trade and the regulator relies on a safe space where information can be shared at a sufficiently early stage to avoid the need for formal enforcement action.

This benefits the public as it enables greater oversight of private hire operators and better scrutiny of services by the regulator and our benefit because proactive discussion avoids costly enforcement activity, delayed access to information and increased bureaucracy.

The use of this exemption is subject to an assessment of the public interest in relation to the disclosure of the information concerned. We recognise that there is a public interest in understanding the scope of regulatory activity, and whether concerns have been sufficiently addressed. However we feel the balance of the public interest supports the exemption in order to enable the effective and timely sharing of information between ourselves and the taxi and private hire trade.

If this is not the information you are looking for please feel free 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

[email protected]

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