FOI request detail

The Knowledge - Yellow Badge Information

Request ID: FOI-1758-1819
Date published: 30 October 2018

You asked

Hi, I am considering studying The Knowledge of London Suburban (yellow badge). I would like to request some information regarding the yellow badge. How long, on average, does it take to complete the Knowledge of London Suburban yellow badge? How many qualified yellow badge holders are there in each of the sectors? How many students are currently studying the knowledge in each sector? What are the average hourly/daily/weekly earnings likely to be for each sector? In which sector are earnings likely to be highest? Kind regards,

We answered

TfL Ref: FOI-1758-1819

Thank you for your email received by us on 3 October 2018 asking for information regarding suburban (yellow badge) taxi drivers.

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 some of the information you require. You asked:

1. How long, on average, does it take to complete the Knowledge of London suburban yellow badge?

On average, using data from 2014 to 2017, it took suburban Knowledge students 11.5 months to study the required routes or runs within ‘The Guide to learning the Knowledge of London’ (commonly known as the ‘Blue Book’); and a further 20.6 months to complete the examination process.

Further information about studying the Knowledge of London is available on our website: www.tfl.gov.uk/info-for/taxis-and-private-hire/licensing/learn-the-knowledge-of-london.

2. How many qualified yellow badge holders are there in each of the sectors?

The table below lists the number of taxi drivers who are licensed for each discrete licensing area in London. This information is accurate as of 31 August 2018.

Please note that we have not displayed all combinations of sectors passed by drivers as a small number of licence holders have a combination of more than one sector, for example, Sector 2 + 3 or sector 1 + 7 + 9.

Licensing areas Number of licensed taxi drivers
London wide 20,631
Sector 1 - Enfield, Haringey and Waltham Forest 51
Sector 1 + Hackney extension 106
Sector 2: Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Newham and Redbridge 720
Sector 3: Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham 270
Sector 4: Bromley 98
Sector 5: Croydon 215
Sector 6: Merton and Sutton 189
Sector 6 + Clapham extension 289
Sector 7: Hounslow, Kingston upon Thames and Richmond Upon Thames 452
Sector 8: Ealing and Hillingdon 140
Sector 9: Barnet, Brent and Harrow 193
2 sectors 158
3 sectors 11
2 or more sectors + Hackney extension 19
2 or more sectors + Clapham extension 17
Total 23,559

3. How many students are currently studying the knowledge in each sector?

The following table provides the number of students currently studying the Knowledge in each licensing area in London. This information does not include licensed drivers studying additional sectors and is accurate as of 31 August 2018:

Knowledge students currently studying each sector Number
London wide 5,516
Sector 1: Enfield, Haringey and Waltham Forest 103
Sector 2: Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Newham and Redbridge 78
Sector 3: Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham 91
Sector 4: Bromley 21
Sector 5: Croydon 83
Sector 6: Merton and Sutton 207
Sector 7: Hounslow, Kingston upon Thames and Richmond Upon Thames 69
Sector 8: Ealing and Hillingdon 59
Sector 9: Barnet, Brent and Harrow 84
Total 6,311

4. What are the average hourly/daily/weekly earnings likely to be for each sector?

5. In which sector are earnings likely to be highest?

We do not hold this information.

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

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