Upon the request of a Private Hire Driver member GMB made an freedom of information request based on intelligence that some drivers are using EU driving Licences to obtain licensing here.
A further allegation based on information by a private hire driver member has been made in relation to these licenses we will update when we are aware of the outcome.
As this has been received and is in the public domain we are releasing information immediately
2.9% – of Private Hire drivers i.e. 2911 TFL Licensed Private hire Drivers in London do not hold a UK license.
We are not too sure of the insurance ramifications and will check as this may be an issue.
More to follow.
Dear Mr Garelick
TfL Ref: FOI-2464-1516
Thank you for your email which we received on 17 March 2016 asking for information about the driving licences held by licensed private hire drivers.
Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and Transport for London’s (TfL’s) information access policy and I can confirm that we do not hold the information you have requested. You asked for:
Data in relation to Private Hire Driver License’s granted using Non UK driving licenses. I would be appreciative of a country by country breakdown.
All drivers must have a UK or EEA licence. As of 24 March 2016, 97.1 % of private hire drivers are UK licence holders and 2.9% are EEA licence holders.
Licence Type Active Private Hire Vehicle Drivers % of Total
UK 97,590 97.1%
EEA 2,911 2.9%
100,501
Posted: 11th April 2016