About 2,000 minicab drivers have been caught in a massive backlog of licensing renewals at Transport for London.
Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan was hit by protests at a TfL board meeting earlier this month after one veteran driver, Rob Dale, suffered a fatal attack while waiting three months for his licence to be renewed.
Now the London Assembly has learned from TfL that about 480 drivers are awaiting re-licensing and a further 1,400 cases are pending, as TfL awaits additional information from the driver.
TfL has pledged to clear the backlog by the end of July. The assembly has asked for weekly reports, in order to be able to monitor progress.
It comes after Sir Sadiq backed calls for drivers – some of whom have been left unable to work – to be given compensation.
The backlog is believed to have resulted from a change to licensing requirements last July, including tougher requirements for drivers to register with the DBS Update Service, as part of wider moves to ensure the safety of passengers.
But TfL staff shortages and computer problems are also said to have delayed the renewal of licences.
According to information received by the assembly, TfL’s Taxi and Private Hire licencing inbox became so full in May it could no longer receive new emails.
There are more than 100,000 licensed minicab drivers in London, working on smartphone app platforms such as Uber.
Elly Baker, chair of the assembly’s transport committee, said: “Delays to issuing private hire licences have caused a breakdown of trust in TfL, and efforts need to be made to rebuild that trust – particularly with private hire drivers and their trade unions.
“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.
“That’s why we have written to TfL today to ask for weekly updates – so we can be sure they are getting a grip on this serious issue.”
Mr Dale, 65, a married father of two from Twickenham, died last November. The three-month delay in renewing his licence left him unable to work and caused him to become “anxious, highly stressed, hopeless and fearful”, according to his family.
His new licence arrived 17 days after his death.
Sir Sadiq, speaking at mayor’s question time last week, backed Lib-Dem calls for compensation to be paid to minicab drivers caught in the backlog.
Lib-Dem assembly member Gareth Roberts said he had learned of numerous cases where drivers have faced devastating consequences due to TfL’s failure to process renewals in a timely manner.
“For months, I’ve been hearing from drivers across London who are at breaking point,” said Mr Roberts.
“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.
“The mayor's commitment to compensation is a welcome step but it must go beyond words.
“These drivers deserve more than apologies; they deserve real action, financial support, and an overhaul of a system that has failed them.”
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."
