FOI Ref: 2236-1617

Thank you for your email received by us on 14 February 2017 asking for information about repairs carried out to licensed London taxis.

We have considered your request 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) What are the current failure criteria applied by NSL Taxi Inspection Centres to welded repairs to the chassis of a taxi?

2) Has NSL Ltd. at any time been instructed by TfL to reject welded repairs that have not been been carried out by the Ascott Cab Company Ltd. of London SE8. ?

I can confirm that all taxis must meet the standards as defined within our taxi inspection manual ( http://content.tfl.gov.uk/vehicle-licence-inspection-manual.pdf ), which includes meeting the requirements of the Road Vehicle (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, as amended. This would include repairs to a vehicle chassis which contravened Construction and Use Regulations 1986 or section 40a Road Traffic Act 1988, and/or the repair has not been carried out to the standard recommended by the vehicle manufacturer.

With regard to the second part of your request, we have instructed NSL to only accept chassis repairs that comply with the manufacturer’s recommended repair methods and have been completed by a manufacturer approved repair centre. Ascott Cab Company Ltd are an approved London Taxi Company (LTC) repair centre; details of all LTC approved service centres are available on their website: www.london-taxis.co.uk/servicing-and-warranty.

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,

Melissa Nichols

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London