FOI request detail

Uber

Request ID: FOI-2496-1617
Date published: 20 April 2017

You asked
1. Uber London Limited is listed on the TfL/TPH website as having a private hire operator base in Tower Hamlets, under PH operator number 7979 expiring on the 301 h May 2017. Would TfL please confirm that there is such an operator base in that district, and that said operator base is capable of receiving, dispatching and recording bookings for TfL licensed private hire vehicles. 2. Would TfL please confirm that compliance officers have visited the above operator base of Uber London Ltd over the duration of the existing PHO licence; and if so, how many visits were made to this operator base by said enforcement officers. 3. Would TfL please confirm the number of private hire bookings that have been dispatched, and records kept, of any and all private hire journeys which have commenced and ended wholly outside the greater London (TfL/TPH) licensing area over the duration of the existing PHO licence (May 2016 to date); and whether compliance officers have had view of such bookings. 4. Would TfL be able to give assurances that they have put steps in place to enforce against any and all journeys undertaken by any TfL licensed Uber driver which have taken place wholly outside the TfL licensing district if there are no records of such journeys logged at the Tower Hamlets operator base.

We answered

Our ref: FOI-2496-1617

 

Thank you for your letter received on 13 March 2017 asking for information about our private hire compliance activities. I am sorry for the delay in replying.

 

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our Information Access Policy. I can confirm we hold some of the information you require. Below I have answered the points as you have raised them.

 

  1. I can confirm the information on our website is correct and that Uber London Ltd has a registered operating centre in the borough of Tower Hamlets.

     



  2. We have carried out 13 compliance inspections for this operator in total, of which six having been conducted at the current address of their registered operating centre.

     



  3. We do not hold this information. During a compliance inspection physical checks are carried out on a representative sample of bookings. These are then deemed compliant or non-compliant for each check carried out. We do not record the details of each journey.

     



  4. Private hire operators are not restricted from taking bookings anywhere in England and Wales, provided the vehicle, driver and operator are licenced by the same licensing authority. All bookings carried out by a London operator must be recorded and discharged in accordance with regulations, regardless of the source of the booking.

 

If we receive evidence that this has not occurred, or we discover this as part of our compliance inspections, we will consider whether licensing action should be taken. Consideration would be given to the reason for non-compliance and any public safety implications.

 

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

 

Graham Hurt

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

 

 

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