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Posted on the 4th August 2026 in PHTM News

LONDON TAXPAYERS LEFT WITH £76M BILL AS TFL LICENSING DELAYS HIT DRIVERS

Sadiq Khan has faced fierce criticism from the Conservatives after Transport for London (TfL) ran up a compensation bill exceeding £7 million due to severe delays in issuing licences to taxi and private hire drivers.

Almost 18,000 drivers have received payouts between £300 and £500 under a Goodwill Payment Scheme, which was introduced to support those whose livelihoods were disrupted.

The backlog stemmed from the introduction of new licence processing software combined with the fallout from an earlier cyber security incident.

TfL had previously faced threats of legal action over the "significant hardship" caused to private hire drivers waiting months for renewals.

Mid-June figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request revealed that 17,972 payments totaling £7,642,120 had been made, leaving London farepayers to foot the bill for drivers whose renewed licences were issued between September 2024 and December 2025.

Conservative politicians were quick to condemn the Mayor of London's oversight.

Shadow Transport Secretary Richard Holden remarked: "Labour's Mayor of London once again proves his woeful administration is wasting Londoners millions of pounds and holding our capital back," calling the situation "simply a disgrace."

Meanwhile, Braintree MP Sir James Cleverly noted that "Londoners deserve a transport system that works for those who rely on it and those who pay for it."

In response, a TfL spokesperson apologised to the affected drivers and confirmed that extra staff were recruited alongside issuing short-term licences to ease the backlog.

TfL stated that the renewal process has now returned to a "consistently steady operating position" and that applications expiring within the next six weeks are currently being prioritised to prevent further work interruptions.

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