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Why TfL Compliance Should Be Your Primary Filter When Choosing Dispatch Software
1. What ‘TfL-compliant’ really means in 2025
From 1 July 2024, Transport for London (TfL) introduced a tighter set of conditions for licensed Private Hire Vehicle (PHV) operators. Key points include:
- ✔ Staff Register & DBS – Operators must keep a live register of all staff handling bookings or dispatch, including DBS reference and date, retained for 12 months.
- ✔ Expanded Booking Records – Every booking must record who accepted it, who dispatched it, plus the driver’s PHV licence number and vehicle VRM.
- ✔ 48-hour Offence Reporting – Operators and staff must self-report arrests, cautions, or convictions within 48 hours.
- ✔ Data Retention & Audit – Booking and staff-register data must remain accessible for inspection for at least 12 months.
Failure to comply can result in suspended or revoked licences, financial penalties, and unannounced TfL inspections.
2. Checklist for a ‘TfL-ready’ dispatch platform
| Function | Why it matters | Must-have indicators |
|---|---|---|
| Staff register module | Satisfies TfL DfT 8 (staff & DBS) | In-app register, DBS expiry alerts |
| Job-record auto-population | Meets TfL DfT 9 booking-record fields | Accept/dispatch user IDs auto-logged |
| Driver-licence allocation controls | Prevents unlicensed driver allocation | Allocation screen hides expired licences |
| Audit exports | Speeds up TfL inspections | One-click CSV/PDF of last 12 months |
| Granular user rights | Maps to TfL’s ‘associated individuals’ definition | Role-based access, per-user audit trail |
| Secure retention & GDPR | Protects sensitive DBS data | UK/EU cloud hosting, encryption at rest |
3. How INSOFTDEV SmartCar clears the bar
The SmartCar platform includes built-in modules and workflows designed to meet and exceed TfL requirements:
- ✔ Driver-Licensing Compliance – Automatic cap on visible drivers in allocation list; flags licences outside TfL rules (Backoffice release SCW-160, Oct 2023).
- ✔ Full Booking-Record Schema – Every accept/dispatch action, licence number, and VRM auto-logged and exportable to CSV.
- ✔ Staff & DBS Register – Built-in “Staff” tab with DBS reference/date and login blocking when checks expire.
- ✔ 12-month UK-based retention – Data stored on UK/EU AWS centres, ready for TfL audits.
- ✔ One-click Audit Pack – Generates the exact PDF/CSV bundle TfL requests during inspections.
- ✔ Proven in the field – Used by London fleets like 247 Airport Transfer since 2014, with successful TfL renewals.
4. Next steps for operators
To prepare your fleet for upcoming compliance checks, we recommend the following steps:
- Benchmark your current system against the checklist above.
- Book a SmartCar demo to see its TfL audit workflow end-to-end.
- Run a mock inspection – export the audit pack and confirm everything maps to TfL’s operator guide.
- Sleep easier knowing licence renewals and ad-hoc inspections won’t derail operations.
