TfL's regulation of London's taxi and private hire trades is
designed to ensure passenger safety. Private hire operators
must meet rigorous regulations, and demonstrate to TfL that
they do so, in order to operate. Before granting a licence, TfL
must be satisfied that an operator is fit and proper to hold a
private hire operator’s licence.
Ola has been operating in London since February 2020 and
recently made TfL aware of a number of failures that had
potential public safety consequences. These included:
- Historic breaches of the licensing regime that led to
unlicensed drivers and vehicles undertaking more than 1,000
passenger trips on behalf of Ola
- Failure to draw these breaches to TfL’s attention
immediately when they were first identified.
Applicants have a right to appeal a decision not to grant a
licence to a magistrates’ court within 21 days. Ola can
continue to operate pending the outcome of any appeal process.
Helen Chapman, TfL’s Director of Licensing, Regulation
and Charging, said: “Our duty as a regulator is to
ensure passenger safety. Through our investigations we
discovered that flaws in Ola’s operating model have led to the
use of unlicensed drivers and vehicles in more than 1,000
passenger trips, which may have put passenger safety at risk.”
“If they do appeal, Ola can continue to operate and drivers can
continue to undertake bookings on behalf of Ola. We will
closely scrutinise the company to ensure passengers safety is
not compromised.”
