London Mayor Sadiq Khan has supported compensation calls for motorists waiting for new licences, which has caused “anxiety and stress” among some drivers.
Approximately 2,000 minicab drivers in London have been left waiting for new taxi and private hire licences, with some unable to work for months whilst awaiting their paperwork.
The London Assembly has revealed that approximately 480 drivers are currently awaiting re-licensing, with an additional 1,400 cases pending as Transport for London awaits further information from applicants.
TfL has committed to clearing the entire backlog by the end of July. The Assembly’s transport committee has demanded weekly progress reports to monitor whether this deadline will be met.
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Sadiq Khan appears to support calls to provide compensation for drivers affected by TfL licensing issues
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In one case, Rob Dale, a 65-year-old married father of two from Twickenham, died last November after waiting three months for his licence renewal, The Standard reported.
His family said the delay left him unable to work and caused him to become “anxious, highly stressed, hopeless and fearful”. The licence arrived 17 days after his death.
The crisis prompted protests at a TfL board meeting earlier this month, with Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan seemingly backing calls for affected drivers to receive compensation, adding that it should be done on a “case-by-case basis”.
He said: “TfL understand my unhappiness with the way this has been dealt with. But, also, I want to reassure drivers they should not be fobbed off or feel they’ve been fobbed off in the way they feel they have been. And I apologise to members of the Assembly if you feel you’ve been fobbed off as well.”
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Transport for London said it had been dealing with staff shortages
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The crisis affects London’s more than 100,000 licensed minicab drivers, many of whom work through smartphone app platforms such as Uber.
Elly Baker, chair of the Assembly’s transport committee, said: “These delays are having a serious impact on driver wellbeing preventing them from being able to work, earn money, and support their loved ones.
“The transport committee wants reassurance that TfL is on track to clear the backlog of applications by the end of July.”
The Mayor’s support for compensation came during last week’s Mayor’s Question Time, following pressure from Liberal Democrat assembly member Gareth Roberts.
The member for Richmond upon Thames said: “For months, I’ve been hearing from drivers across London who are at breaking point.
“They’ve been locked out of work, forced into rent arrears, and in some cases made homeless – all through no fault of their own. Our inboxes are filled with distressing stories. This is a moral crisis as much as a bureaucratic one.”
Roberts welcomed the Mayor’s commitment, but called for concrete action, noting that drivers “deserve more than apologies” and should receive financial support.
The backlog is believed to have stemmed from licensing requirement changes introduced last July, including stricter rules requiring drivers to register with the DBS Update Service as part of broader passenger safety measures.
Sadiq Khan said compensation may be considered on a ‘case-by-case’ basis
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However, TfL staff shortages and computer system failures have compounded the delays. According to Assembly information, TfL’s Taxi and Private Hire licensing inbox became so overwhelmed in May that it could no longer receive new emails.
Ms Baker warned that the delays have caused “a breakdown of trust in TfL” that must be rebuilt with drivers and their trade unions.
A TfL spokesperson said: “We are very sorry to drivers who have experienced issues with our processing times of private hire driver licences.
“We have worked with urgency to take a number of steps to mitigate the impact of these delays, including recruiting and training additional staff and granting short-term private hire vehicle driver licences where appropriate.
“We continue to take every possible step to rectify the delays quickly and we will be responding to the committee’s letter shortly.”