Request ID: FOI-2241-2324 Date published: 13 October 2023
You asked
Can you provide under an FOI request any data that you have regarding the number of taxi drivers using electric to power their taxis and the number using petrol during their working day?
Under an FOI request please tell me: what weight percentage of the tariff is attributable to the cost of the vehicle? I do not want the full calculation of the tariff, I simply want to know from a £10 fare how much is attributed to cover the cost of the vehicle under TfL’s tariff policy.
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-2241-2324
Thank you for your Freedom of Information requests contained within your email of 25th September 2023 below. Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.
Your questions are answered in turn below:
Question 1: Can you provide under an FOI request any data that you have regarding the number of taxi drivers using electric to power their taxis and the number using petrol during their working day?
Answer: In our most recent TPH Taxi and Private Hire Licensee Customer Satisfaction Survey conducted in November 2022, of 248 LEVC TXe drivers surveyed, over two thirds of LEVC TXe taxi owners stated that they drive their vehicle in pure electric mode more than 60 per cent of the time. The petrol range extender mode is used far less frequently, with more than half of respondents stating that they used it 40 per cent of the time or less.
Question 2: Under an FOI request please tell me: what weight percentage of the tariff is attributable to the cost of the vehicle? I do not want the full calculation of the tariff, I simply want to know from a £10 fare how much is attributed to cover the cost of the vehicle under TfL’s tariff policy.
Answer: It is not possible to break cab fares down in this way. Taxi fares are based on:
The time of day
Distance travelled
The time taken for a taxi journey
Plus any authorised extra charges
The cost of the vehicle is only one of the components within the Cost Index, which we use when considering potential changes to taxi fares and tariffs. The Total Cost Index figure is calculated looking at changes in the costs of each item over time, as opposed to what these costs actually are. However, for clarity, the Cost Index only guides our review of taxi fares and tariffs, it does not determine the fares or tariffs.
Our purpose when setting taxi fares and tariffs is to strike an appropriate balance between affordability for customers and fair remuneration for drivers and the Cost Index is only one of a number of considerations that we take account of and indeed it hasn’t been applied it directly in recent years.
Decisions on the tariffs are made by TfL’s Finance Committee (under delegated authority from the TfL Board) and then the journey itself determines the fare payable (as above). As such there is not a specific “vehicle cost” component of taxi fares, this component only exists in the Cost Index which is used to guide reviews of fares and tariffs. More information on the Cost Index is available here.
If this is not the information you are looking for 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,
David Wells FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
