Request ID: FOI-4083-2324 Date published: 05 March 2024
You asked
Please could you tell me:
• How many people applied to take The Knowledge test each year, for as far back as you have data
• How many of these applicants were successful
• How many taxi driver licences have been issued each year, for as far back as you hold data
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-4083-2324 Thank you for your request which we received on 7 February 2024, asking for information about taxi driver licensing and the Knowledge of London. Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require. You asked:
How many people applied to take The Knowledge test each year, for as far back as you have data.
Please see the table below which shows the annual number of applicants for the Knowledge of London from 2016.
Year
Total
2016
444
2017
416
2018
361
2019
356
2020
178
2021
174
2022
440
2023
579
2024
108
How many of these applicants were successful.
We do not record the information in this way. While we do hold some data that shows how many of those who apply to start the Knowledge of London (KoL) get accepted (see above), the number of taxi drivers licensed in any one year (having successfully completed the KoL) will not directly correlate with this. The KoL takes, on average, between 3 and 4 years to complete. Some people may take less time and some may take significantly more depending on whether they are studying full or part time.
To provide this information we would need to examine the individual application files and establish whether the applicant has subsequently completed the KoL. This would exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ of £450 set by the Freedom of Information (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004, as we would have to manually check each applicants record.
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. In this instance, we estimate that the time required to answer your request would exceed 18 hours which, at £25 per hour (the rate stipulated by the Regulations), exceeds the ‘appropriate limit’. To help bring the cost of responding to your question within the £450 limit, you may wish to consider narrowing its scope over a narrower period of time for example, so that we can more easily locate, retrieve and extract the information you are seeking.
How many taxi driver licences have been issued each year, for as far back as you hold data.
Please see the table below which shows the number of new taxi driver licenses issued annually, from 2016.
Year
Licences
2016
1010
2017
896
2018
549
2019
442
2020
233
2021
247
2022
264
2023
185
2024
26
We also publish a range of statistical licensing information on our website which you may find useful: www.tfl.gov.uk/info-for/taxis-and-private-hire/licensing/licensing-information. 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 Eva Hextall FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
