Grieving Family Demands Justice After Driver Dies Amid TfL Licence Delay

Robert Dale, 65, died of a heart attack in October 2024, just 13 days after emailing TfL about the licence delays he was facing. In the email, he expressed his frustration by stating that the months-long delay had left him unable to support his wife and two sons.

According to his family, Dale had submitted all documents on time but still faced delays for several months. The stress of being out of work had significantly affected his health as well.

In a letter to TfL and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, Dale’s family asked for a formal recognition that licensing delays were a key factor in his death. They also demanded that professional drivers should be treated with dignity and respect. Their lives cannot be jeopardised because of a flawed licensing system.

TfL’s Director of Licensing and Regulation, Helen Chapman, stated that they were analysing the handling of Dale’s case and were deeply sorry for his family’s loss.

She further stated that TfL is taking this issue extremely seriously and will thoroughly respond to his family’s concerns after a full review of the case.

Ben Dale, son of Robert Dale, said: “My dad loved his job because he got to meet so many new people and hear different stories. He was generally happy, but in the last few months of his life, he had become highly stressed due to a lack of work. While our dad will never come back, we don’t want other families to experience the same pain. That’s why we call TfL to issue licenses immediately to all the drivers facing delays.”

TfL has blamed a cyber attack and a glitch in the new licensing system for delays and said that they are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

Source: https://www.taxi-point.co.uk/post/family-of-private-hire-driver-who-died-during-tfl-licence-renewal-delays-demands-emergency-action