TfL Ref: FOI-2547-2425
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 11th November 2024 asking for information about Private Hire Vehicle drivers with endorsements or convictions.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act / Environmental Information Regulations and our information access policy.
Specifically you asked:
“I would like to request the below information:
- How many private hire license holders have endorsements on their license?
- How many private hire license holders have 6 or more points on their license?
- How many private hire license holders have the endorsement code CU80 - (breach of requirements as to control of the vehicle) on their driving license?”.
I can confirm that we hold the information you require. However, I am afraid it is not possible to source answers within the costs limit for responding to FOI requests, as set out under section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act. Under section 12, TfL is not obliged to provide information if it would cost more than £450 to determine if that information is held, and to then locate, retrieve or extract it from elsewhere. This is calculated at a rate of £25 per hour, equivalent to 18 hours work.
In this instance the exemption applies because the information has not been collated before and there is no quick or efficient way of doing so. When we receive information from the DVLA or courts regarding points/endorsements of a licensee's driving licence it is not recorded in a way that allows an automated search to take place. Rather, it is added to the drivers file in document form (e.g. the email received). To extract the requested information we would have to manually check each such file. As of 3rd November 2024 there were 107,678 private hire licence holders. Given this figure, it is not possible to conduct a manual review of all such records within the 18 hour limit.
In order to bring your request within the costs limit you may wish to reframe it to narrow its scope, taking account of the information above. Note that any request requiring a manual review of all licence holder records will trigger the costs limit.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely,
David Wells
FOI Case Officer
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London
