Transport for London has been threatened with legal action due to the “significant hardship” being suffered by minicab drivers waiting months to have their licences renewed.
A huge backlog has been caused by the cyber attack on TfL last September and the introduction of a new computer software used to process the applications.
One union compared it to the Post Office scandal.
Hire drivers using apps like Uber and Bolt are unable to work without licences. Hundreds and potentially more than 1,000 minicab drivers are thought to have been impacted.
Licensed black taxi drivers have also been affected, TfL commissioner Andy Lord has admitted.
The GMB union, which represents thousands of private hire drivers, announced on Wednesday that it was intending to bring a compensation claim for the losses suffered by drivers left unable to work.
The union said dozens of members had come forward to join a potential action, seeking compensation for lost earnings.
Kola Olalekan, GMB professional driver branch secretary, said: “Many of our members suffered a significant impact on their livelihoods.
“We have heard their concerns loud and clear, and we intend to take action to recover the losses they have unjustly incurred. When our members face hardship, we act.”
Last week the IWGB union, which also represents minicab drivers affected by the TfL licensing backlog, said it was considering legal action.
It said “serious and systemic failures” at TfL were “leaving thousands of drivers out of work”, falling into debt and facing eviction.
Last month, Helio Santos, a member of the IWGB’s private hire drivers' branch, interrupted a TfL board meeting to plead with London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan to intervene.
His protest followed the death of long-serving minicab driver Robert Dale, 65, a married father of two, last November.
TfL’s three-month delay in renewing Mr Dale’s licence left him unable to work and caused him to become “anxious, highly stressed, hopeless and fearful”, according to his family.
It is thought that TfL has recruited an additional 40 staff in a bid to cut the backlog.
The London Assembly has asked TfL for weekly updates to check whether it will be able to meet a promise to clear the backlog by the end of July.
By late June, there were about 480 drivers awaiting re-licensing and a further 1,400 cases stuck in the system, pending additional information from the driver, TfL told the assembly.
Bobby Dean, the Lib-Dem MP for Carshalton and Wallington, said: “I'm getting more and more people writing to me about this. I'm in regular contact with TfL but they are being far too slow to react.
“This is having serious impacts on people's lives. Just today I have had a constituent on the phone, clearly in distress, worrying about how they are going to pay their rent and feed their family this month."
Neil Garratt, a Tory member of the London Assembly, said: “The threatened legal action is no surprise.
“TfL's licensing chaos has dragged on for months, costing drivers their livelihoods and perhaps one driver his life.
“Despite now hiring 40 extra staff, hundreds of drivers remain trapped in TfL's broken system.
“The mayor and TfL wasted months blaming IT problems instead of taking responsibility. Drivers deserve compensation for the financial devastation TfL has caused, Londoners deserve accountability from the well-paid officials responsible.”
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 ensure that all drivers who meet licensing requirements are licenced and able to work.”
TfL commissioner Mr Lord, in an update to next Monday’s meeting of the TfL board, said: “I would like to apologise to those who have experienced delays with their applications or renewals.
“We appreciate how difficult it has been for drivers who have been unable to work and that this has caused both financial hardship and significant stress.”
The IWGB is working with law firm Deighton Pierce Glynn to investigate whether TfL has breached its legal duties by failing to process minicab license renewals on time.
Under current rules, London’s more than 100,000 private hire drivers must renew their licenses with TfL every three years, at a cost of £310.
But since the summer of 2024, worsening delays have left thousands of drivers without valid licenses, forcing them out of work with no income, no clear timeline for resolution, and minimal communication from TfL.
Alex Marshall, president of the IWGB, said: “What’s happening at TfL is a repeat of the Post Office scandal - managers failing to intervene as a broken computer system tears hundreds of lives apart. Until TfL takes accountability for the deep pain it has inflicted, makes reparations, and reforms their system, we will continue to fight.”
Ahmed Aydeed, of Deighton Pierce Glynn Solicitors, said: “TfL is operating an unlawful system by failing to ensure continuity of licensing for private hire drivers.
“Any public authority and government that strips people of their livelihood is not fit for purpose.”
