London, 7 August 2025 – Transport for London (TfL) has issued a formal notice to remind taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) licence holders about the professional standards expected of them—both online and during interactions with TfL staff. The warning comes amid a rise in concerns over inappropriate social media conduct by some drivers.
What the notice says
TfL emphasises that while licence holders have the right to free speech, misuse of social media that involves harassment, bullying, or offensive remarks targeting passengers, fellow drivers, TfL staff or members of the public can trigger a review into a driver’s fitness to hold a licence. This includes comments likely to cause offence related to protected characteristics such as age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation.
Additionally, TfL highlights the dangers of live‑streaming or vlogging while driving. Not only is it a serious safety hazard, it could also constitute a criminal offence.
Potential consequences
Evidence shows that misconduct—whether online or in person—can lead to several regulatory actions:
- Issuing a written warning
- Suspending the licence temporarily
- Full revocation of the licence, in serious or repeated cases
The final decision rests on the specific circumstances of each case; TfL assesses these individually before taking action.
Broader context: how many licences are revoked?
Data from an FOI request covering the year ending 31 May 2022 reveals that TfL revoked 2,178 private hire driver licences. The reasons varied, but did not explicitly include social media misconduct. Among the most common grounds were:
- Medical reasons (not meeting DVLA Group 2 standards): over 1,100 cases
- Dishonesty: 407 cases
- Misconduct and abuse towards passengers: 32 cases
As such, TfL may consider social media abuse under “behavioural” or “complaints” categories as part of its broader fitness-to-hold-licence framework.
Read the official notice from the TFL here
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