Under the Freedom of Information Act I write asking if you could supply the following information on PHV (Private Hire Vehicles) in London. • Split by propulsion type (petrol, diesel, LPG, hybrid, 100% electric etc). I need total annual licence and Borough licence splits for the period 2007 to 2017 and 2018 if available. • Year when PHV was first registered. Again I need total annual licence and Borough splits for the period 2007 to 2017 and 2018 if available.

---

TfL Ref: 2993-1819

Thank you for your emails received by us on 8 and 20 February 2019 asking for information about Private Hire Vehicles by fuel type and age.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Environmental Information Regulations and our information access policy.  I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require. You asked for the following information:

PHV (Private Hire Vehicles) in London.

• Split by propulsion type (petrol, diesel, LPG, hybrid, 100% electric etc). I need total annual licence and Borough licence splits for the period 2007 to 2017 and 2018 if available.
• Year when PHV was first registered. Again I need total annual licence and Borough splits for the period 2007 to 2017 and 2018 if available.

What I am trying to achieve is an analysis of the private hire vehicles each year by London Borough to thus give a total for London.

The key aim of the FOI is to understand:

First the split of private hire vehicles in each London Borough for each year 2007 to 2017 by fuel type. I am trying to calculate the number of petrol, diesel, LPG, hybrid, 100% electric private hire vehicles in a Borough such as Ealing in 2007, 2008 up to 2017 and, combined with other Borough’s, give a total for London each year.

Second, and similar to the split by fuel, I am looking for the year when a private hire vehicle was registered in each Borough for each year between 2007 and 2017. Again I’m trying to get Borough and ultimately totals for all of London.

The aim of the FOI is to understand first the change in the fuel mix within the London private hire sector – I have a separate enquiry for Hackney carriages with ONS, and second the age profile of private hire vehicles across London – again I have a similar enquiry with ONS for Hackney carriages.

Private hire vehicles are licensed by Transport for London (TfL) for use in Greater London. They are not licensed by borough. The only address/borough information that is attached to a vehicle is the address of the vehicle owner, which does not necessarily mean that the vehicle is used or based in that borough.  For example, there are fleet operators that will have numerous vehicles registered under a particular address but then lease these cars to PHV drivers all over London.

It is not possible to provide the change in fuel use over time as private hire vehicles are licensed on an annual basis and where there is a period of relicensing, some data in the vehicle records are overwritten to reflect the new licence. This means we are only able to provide information on currently licensed vehicles. The following table lists a breakdown in the number of Private Hire vehicles in London on the basis of fuel usage as of 28 December 2018.

Fuel type                                                                Number of vehicles                                                      Percentage of the PHV fleet
Pure Diesel                                                                         46,825                                                                                  53.4
Pure Petrol                                                                           3,412                                                                                  3.9
Hybrid petrol/hybrid diesel/Electric/Hydrogen                37,471                                                                                  42.7
Total fleet                                                                            87,708                                                                                100%

Furthermore, we are introducing new private hire vehicle requirements in a phased approach which will ensure that by 1 January 2023, all vehicles granted a private hire licence for the first time will be Zero Emission Capable, regardless of age. There are several milestones to be aware of:

1 January 2018 to 31 December 2019:

All PHVs licensed for the first time during this period must have a Euro 6 petrol or diesel engine, or a Euro 4 petrol-hybrid engine.

1 January 2020 to 31 December 2022:

All new (less than 18 months old) PHVs licensed for the first time will have to be zero emission capable

PHVs over 18 months old will need to have a Euro 6 engine when licensed for the first time

From 1 January 2023:

All PHVs (of any age) will need to be zero emission capable when licensed for the first time.

If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, 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

Jasmine Howard
FOI Case Officer
Information Governance
Transport For London

 

Back to top

---