Dear TfL, Can you provide anonymised data for private hire operators that show how many private hire drivers or private hire vehicles they operate? This can be an year end figure, a time series or a snapshot of any day/time within the last 18 months. To make it absolutely clear I would expect to see: Operator 1 5 Private Hire Vehicles Operator 2 10 Private Hire Vehicles XX XX XXX Operator Z Y Private Hire Vehicles or Operator 1 5 Private Hire Drivers Operator 2 10 Private Hire Drivers XX XX XXX Operator Z Y Private Hire Drivers or Operator 1 5 Private Hire Vehicles and 12 Private Hire Drivers Operator 2 10 Private Hire Vehicles and 120 Private Hire Drivers XX XX XXX Operator Z Y Private Hire Vehicles and Z Private Hire Drivers I wouldn't expect you to disclose: - Any details of the operator - Time when the data was exactly correct (snapshot date) Kind regards

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TfL Ref: 1733-1718

Thank you for your web request clarified on 11 October 2017 asking for information about licensed private hire operators. I apologise for the delay in acknowledging your request. Thank you also for your email of 8 November explaining the purpose behind your request which has been noted.

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:

• The amount of private hire vehicles each operator has

   

• The amount of active private hire drivers each operator has.

Please find attached a copy of the Customer Service and Operational Performance Panel paper of 13 July 2017 which is also available on our website which

includes (on page 13) details of the number of operators that fits into each tier of the new fees structure proposed earlier this year. Please note that these figures are only estimates as at November 2016 as we are still finalizing an accurate assessment of operator size numbers.

In accordance with the FOI Act we are not obliged to supply all of the information requested as it is subject to a statutory exemption to the right of access to information under section 41 and 43(2). In this instance a section 41 exemption has been applied as disclosure of the information you have requested was provided to TfL by a Third Party (the Operators) in confidence. The information is not in the public domain, and there was not a reasonable expectation that the withheld information would be made public by TfL. Therefore we consider that disclosure would constitute an actionable breach of confidence. Since section 41 confers an absolute exemption, it is not necessary to consider whether the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. Even if section 41 did not confer absolute exemption, there would be no special public interest in disclosure of this information that would justify a breach of confidence in this case.

We also consider in this instance that a section 43(2) exemption also applies as, from the disclosure of a full list of operator vehicle and driver numbers even without licence names,  it would still be possible to make accurate assumptions about a large number of operators. Larger competitors would be able to get accurate data about their competitors’ fleet size which would provide an insight into each company which would be of interest to other operators.

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 the need for openness and transparency by public authorities, but in this instance the section 43(2) exemption has been applied to the specific operator and vehicle numbers as it would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of the larger private hire operators, and enable their competitors to access useful information about them which would potentially reduce the competitiveness of the private hire market. This could ultimately have a bearing on the value for money private hire vehicle users may expect to achieve from using the service and may overall negatively affect market forces shaping the private hire business in London.

We work with operators to ensure that they provide us with the details of drivers and vehicles they have used to fulfil private hire bookings, or have had available to them to fulfil bookings in a specified period. Support and guidance is given to operators to ensure that they comply with this requirement. Failing to provide this information may lead to licensing action being taken.  Further details can be found by visiting our website 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

Sara Thomas

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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