Re the published ethnicity breakdown of registered private hire taxi drivers - I’ve had a look at the data available via that link and it’s really helpful. I have a couple of queries; • Firstly, I notice that quite a lot of drivers ‘declined to answer’ regarding their ethnicity – am I right in thinking therefore that TfL only collect data regarding ethnicity where a driver volunteers that info rather than it being mandatory? • Secondly, while the data on that link is useful it is very up to date whereas I am looking at a specific time frame from the past (October 2011 – October 2013). Is it possible to request the ethnicity breakdown for that time period?

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TfL Ref: FOI-1819-1718

Thank you for your email received on 26 September asking for the ethnicity breakdown of taxi and private hire drivers between October 2011 and October 2013.

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.

Applicants are requested to provide ethnicity data when making a new driver application. Please note, that it is not compulsory to provide this data. This is made clear upon the application itself.

We do not hold this information in a reportable format prior to this date.

We believe the best way to meet your request is to provide a snap shot of data from the period in question. The table below provides you with details of the range of ethnicity within the majority of private hire drivers licensed in London as at 29 September 2013.

	Private hire drivers	Number of taxi drivers
Asian or Asian British (Bangladeshi)	6,187	133
Asian or Asian British (Indian)	2,397	122
Asian or Asian British (Other)	9,528	149
Asian or Asian British (Pakistani)	7,367	141
Black or Black British (African)	8,445	449
Black or Black British (Caribbean)	840	385
Black or Black British (Other)	498	107
Chinese or other ethnic group (Chinese)	161	35
Chinese or other ethnic group (Other)	379	161
Mixed (Other)	347	73
Mixed (White and Asian)	344	42
Mixed (White and Black African)	308	45
Mixed (White and Black Caribbean)	94	71
Not Specified	16,340	3,773
White British	6,780	16,900
White Irish	183	291
White Other	7,349	433
Grand Total	67,547	23,310

As you may be aware, we regularly publish taxi and private hire driver demographic information, including data on the gender, age and ethnicity of licensees. This is available on our website at the following location: www.tfl.gov.uk/info-for/taxis-and-private-hire/licensing/licensing-information.

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.

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.

Yours sincerely

Simon Guild

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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