Good afternoon, I see a 2017 FOI request where you listed all the minicabs registered as PHVs, with vehicle VRM, vehicle Make, vehicle Model, and disc number. Could you please update this list with latest available data for currently registered vehicles? Are you also able to include the year of the vehicles' registration ? ( to see the age of the cars - not possible to guess from all the number plates) Data on the drivers: can you list the aggregate number of private hire drivers registered within your licensing authority, and break it down by the year in which they were first registered? Thirdly - Private Hire Operators: Are you able to additionally list how many vehicles each operator is currently licensed for ? It may be a range only (eg 501-1000) but that would be helpful as well. is this too much? Can it be actioned within a single request? Many Thanks for your assistance.

---

TfL Ref: FOI-3017-1819

Thank you for your email received by Transport for London (TfL) on 11 February 2019.

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 do hold the information you require. You asked:

I see a 2017 FOI request where you listed all the minicabs registered as PHVs, with vehicle VRM, vehicle Make, vehicle Model, and disc number. Could you please update this list with latest available data for currently registered vehicles? Are you also able to include the year of the vehicles' registration ? ( to see the age of the cars - not possible to guess from all the number plates)

Data on the drivers: can you list the aggregate number of private hire drivers registered within your licensing authority, and break it down by the year in which they were first registered?

The information you have requested above can be found on our website at https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/taxis-and-private-hire/licensing/licensing-information

Unfortunately we are unable to provide the date they were first registered as this detail is not held in a reportable format and the process of collating it would exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ of £450 set by the Freedom of Information (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.

Under section 12 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to comply with a request if we estimate that the cost of determining whether we hold the information, locating and retrieving it and extracting it from other information would exceed the appropriate limit. This is calculated at £25 per hour for every hour spent on the activities described.

Thirdly - Private Hire Operators: Are you able to additionally list how many vehicles each operator is currently licensed for ? It may be a range only (eg 501-1000) but that would be helpful as well.

In accordance with the FOI Act we are not obliged to supply this information. In this instance we have applied section 43(2) exemption to the number of vehicles registered with each operator as it is commercially sensitive. Disclosure of this information would enable rival companies to have an insight into any operator’s business model and undermine their position in the competitive market place.

The use of this exemption is subject to an assessment of the public interest in relation to the disclosure of the information concerned. We recognise the need for openness and transparency by public authorities, but in this instance feel that the balance lies in favour of withholding the information to ensure that private hire operators can continue to be able to operate effectively without being placed at a commercial disadvantage. Please refer to the Decision Notice issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office for further details: https://ico.org.uk/media/action-weve-taken/decision-notices/2017/2172517/fs50676040.pdf.

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.

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

Eva Hextall

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

Back to top

---