Our ref: FOI-2160-2425
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 04 October 2024 asking for information about Uber licences.
Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and our information access policy.
I can confirm that we do hold the information you require. You asked:
I’d like to know how many Uber licences are issued on a weekly basis? I would also like to know why the amount of licences aren’t capped, as London Taxi licences are? There are far too many Uber drivers on the streets of London, London streets were not made for so many vehicles, London has been ruined by the amount of congestion caused by so many drivers on the streets of London.
We have taken your query to mean the number of private hire driver licences we issue on a weekly basis, as these are issued to the driver, who once licensed can work for any (one or more) licensed private hire operator in London.
In accordance with section 21 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to supply you with a copy of the requested information as it is already accessible to you elsewhere. We publish a range of licensing information, in addition to weekly licensing statistics on our website. With regards to restricting the number of licences we issue, for both taxi and private hire services we are legally obliged to issue a licence to anyone that meets the criteria for licensing.
In 2018, the Department for Transport (DfT) commissioned a Task and Finish Group on taxi and PHV licensing that examined a number of issues, including whether a cap should be applied to certain licence types. This Group’s recommendations included a call for Government to allow local licensing authorities, where a need is proven through a public interest test, to set a cap on the number of private hire vehicles they licence.
In its response, the Government was clear that it was not minded to provide legislation to allow licensing authorities the power to cap licensed PHV numbers: Taxi and private hire vehicle licensing: government response to independent report - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
If you are not satisfied with this response please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely,
Tahsin Prima
FOI Case Officer
General Counsel
Transport for London
