Pay to use toilet queries

Our ref: 1002975519

Date: 01.03.2009

Dear Mr Ereira

Thank you for your email received by London Underground on 14 February.
You have asked for information about London Underground toilets.

We will deal with your request as soon as possible and in any case provide
you with a response by 13 March.

In the meantime, I would also recommend contacting National Rail as they
charge for some of their toilets at stations. They can be contacted on
08457 48 49 50 and their website address is [1]www.nationalrail.com.

If you have any queries or would like to discuss your request, please do
not hesitate to contact me on 0845 330 9880. We are open every day from
08:00 to 20:00.

Yours sincerely,

Ebbah Kwambai
Customer Service Advisor
Customer Service Centre

If you wish to reply directly to this email, please click on the reply
button on your toolbar. Please do not alter or delete the subject line as
this will result in your email not being delivered.

To improve our service we would very much like your feedback and we would
be grateful if you would complete our brief, and confidential, Customer
Satisfaction Survey. To access the survey [2]click here

If you wish to contact us with a new or unrelated query or look at our
Frequently Asked Questions, please [3]click here

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Our ref: 1002975519

Date: 07.03.2009

Dear Mr Ereira

Thank you for your email received by London Underground on 14 February.
You asked for information about London Underground toilets.

Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of
Information Act.

A small minority of London Underground (LU) customer toilets have a charge
for usage. These have been introduced as a way of discouraging antisocial
behaviour, so that the toilets are more pleasant to use for legitimate
users.

On stations where we do have these facilities, they have often had to be
closed because they have become a refuge for alcoholics, drug addicts and
even the homeless. This has meant they are unsafe for other customers and
our staff.

Our toilets have also suffered a huge amount of vandalism. This led us to
the point where repairs and cleaning up were costing too much money for it
to be worth keeping the toilets open.

There is no amount ‘budgeted’ for each station as these arrangements
are made on a local basis. This is also the reason why the number of
toilets charging is in a minority – where possible they are kept free to
use, although other restricted availability measures, such as restricted
opening hours, may be used.

At some stations, a ‘token’ system is used, where customers need to
request a token from the ticket office to unlock the door, although no
charge is made. At the new Wood Lane station, the toilet facilities are
accessed by using an intercom, which alerts staff to unlock the doors
remotely.

The use of the money collected varies from station to station. A number of
stations donate the proceeds to various charities, including Great Ormond
Street children’s hospital. At other stations, the money is included in
ticket office count up as a miscellaneous item.

The maintenance of the facilities is included in wider maintenance
budgets. However, getting this improvements carried out is dependant on
any problems being reported promptly. Improvements to toilets are also
made when stations are refurbished.

Wherever possible disused toilets are being reopened and existing toilets
are being refurbished; they are also being made step-free and accessible
to wheelchair users. Of course, the provision of toilets is always
dependent on the geography and architecture of our stations.

Our Strategy and Service Development team are currently reviewing the use
of charging on LU customer toilets and they are trying to identify what
the policy should be in future, as we appreciate that the current
inconsistency can be confusing for customers.

Although we are unable to provide you with a timescale, we appreciate that
there will be a need to find alternative solutions for managing the
facilities at stations where antisocial behaviour is a problem.

Please find below revenue figures for some of our stations:

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Station |Revenue |Charge|
|------------+----------------------------------------------------+------|
|Barons Court|Approx £150 in 2006/07 and 2007/08* |10p |
|------------+----------------------------------------------------+------|
|Cockfosters |£4689.10 in 2006, £6850.40 in 2007, £7271.35 in |20p |
| |2008 | |
|------------+----------------------------------------------------+------|
|Oakwood |£3241.95 in 2006, £2510.99 in 2007, £3854.30 in |20p |
| |2008 | |
|------------+----------------------------------------------------+------|
|Kilburn |Approx £2500 per annum | |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Unfortunately we will not be able to fully resolve your request within the
statutory 20 working day deadline. This is because we are collating
revenue information for the rest of our stations.

We will respond as soon as soon as we receive any further information.
Please accept my apologies for this delay and any inconvenience it may
cause you. In the meantime, if you have any queries relating to your
request, please do not hesitate to contact me on 0845 330 9880. We are
open every day from 08:00 to 20:00.

If you are not satisfied with this response, please read the help-sheet
below entitled ‘Your Right to Appeal’.

Please contact me again if you need any help in the meanwhile.

Yours sincerely,

Ebbah Kwambai
Customer Service Advisor
Customer Service Centre

Any copyright in the material provided with this response is owned by TfL
or one of its subsidiary companies unless otherwise stated. The disclosure
of information does not give the person or organisation who receives it an
automatic right to re-use it in a way that would infringe copyright (for
example, by making multiple copies, publishing and issuing copies to the
public). Brief extracts of the material may be reproduced under the fair
dealing provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998
(sections 29 and 30) for the purposes of research for non-commercial
purposes, private study, criticism, review and news reporting.

Your Right to Appeal

Internal Review

If you are dissatisfied with the way TfL has handled your information
request, you can ask us to conduct an internal review of our decision.

The internal review will be conducted by someone other than the person who
made the original decision, in accordance with the complaints procedure
published on our website at [1]www.tfl.gov.uk/foi.

Requests for internal review should be addressed to:

Head of Information Access and Compliance

6^th Floor Windsor House

42 – 50

Victoria Street

London

SW1H 0TL

Complaints to the Information Commissioner

If, following the internal review, you remain dissatisfied with the way
TfL has handled your request, then you can take your complaint to:

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

A complaint form is available on the Information Commissioner’s Office
website

[2]www.ico.gov.uk

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Our ref: 1002975519

Date: 10.03.2009

Dear Mr Ereira

Further to my e-mail on 7 March, please see below:

· Revenue collections for Stratford station in an Excel
spreadsheet

The attached information is displayed so that they can be totalled by
financial or calendar year. The monies from the public toilets at
Stratford began on 14 June 2004. The money is donated to Richard House,
which is a local children's hospice.

If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable
to access it for some reason, please do not hesitate to contact me on 0845
330 9880. We are open every day from 08:00 to 20:00.

If you are not satisfied with this response, please read the help-sheet
below entitled ‘Your Right to Appeal’.

Please contact me again if you need any help in the future.

Yours sincerely,

Ebbah Kwambai
Customer Service Advisor
Customer Service Centre

Any copyright in the material provided with this response is owned by TfL
or one of its subsidiary companies unless otherwise stated. The disclosure
of information does not give the person or organisation who receives it an
automatic right to re-use it in a way that would infringe copyright (for
example, by making multiple copies, publishing and issuing copies to the
public). Brief extracts of the material may be reproduced under the fair
dealing provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998
(sections 29 and 30) for the purposes of research for non-commercial
purposes, private study, criticism, review and news reporting.

DO NOT DELETE.............................
{ticketno:[79514]}
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Original Text

From: [email address]
To: request-812759cb15ec@whatdotheyknow
<[email address]>
CC:
Sent: 08.03.09 12:10:16
Subject: Our ref: 1002975519

Our ref: 1002975519

Date: 07.03.2009

Dear Mr Ereira

Thank you for your email received by London Underground on 14 February.
You asked for information about London Underground toilets.

Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of
Information Act.

A small minority of London Underground (LU) customer toilets have a charge
for usage. These have been introduced as a way of discouraging antisocial
behaviour, so that the toilets are more pleasant to use for legitimate
users.

On stations where we do have these facilities, they have often had to be
closed because they have become a refuge for alcoholics, drug addicts and
even the homeless. This has meant they are unsafe for other customers and
our staff.

Our toilets have also suffered a huge amount of vandalism. This led us to
the point where repairs and cleaning up were costing too much money for it
to be worth keeping the toilets open.

There is no amount ‘budgeted’ for each station as these arrangements
are made on a local basis. This is also the reason why the number of
toilets charging is in a minority – where possible they are kept free to
use, although other restricted availability measures, such as restricted
opening hours, may be used.

At some stations, a ‘token’ system is used, where customers need to
request a token from the ticket office to unlock the door, although no
charge is made. At the new Wood Lane station, the toilet facilities are
accessed by using an intercom, which alerts staff to unlock the doors
remotely.

The use of the money collected varies from station to station. A number of
stations donate the proceeds to various charities, including Great Ormond
Street children’s hospital. At other stations, the money is included in
ticket office count up as a miscellaneous item.

The maintenance of the facilities is included in wider maintenance
budgets. However, getting this improvements carried out is dependant on
any problems being reported promptly. Improvements to toilets are also
made when stations are refurbished.

Wherever possible disused toilets are being reopened and existing toilets
are being refurbished; they are also being made step-free and accessible
to wheelchair users. Of course, the provision of toilets is always
dependent on the geography and architecture of our stations.

Our Strategy and Service Development team are currently reviewing the use
of charging on LU customer toilets and they are trying to identify what
the policy should be in future, as we appreciate that the current
inconsistency can be confusing for customers.

Although we are unable to provide you with a timescale, we appreciate that
there will be a need to find alternative solutions for managing the
facilities at stations where antisocial behaviour is a problem.

Please find below revenue figures for some of our stations:

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Station |Revenue |Charge|
|------------+----------------------------------------------------+------|
|Barons Court|Approx £150 in 2006/07 and 2007/08* |10p |
|------------+----------------------------------------------------+------|
|Cockfosters |£4689.10 in 2006, £6850.40 in 2007, £7271.35 in |20p |
| |2008 | |
|------------+----------------------------------------------------+------|
|Oakwood |£3241.95 in 2006, £2510.99 in 2007, £3854.30 in |20p |
| |2008 | |
|------------+----------------------------------------------------+------|
|Kilburn |Approx £2500 per annum | |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Unfortunately we will not be able to fully resolve your request within the
statutory 20 working day deadline. This is because we are collating
revenue information for the rest of our stations.

We will respond as soon as soon as we receive any further information.
Please accept my apologies for this delay and any inconvenience it may
cause you. In the meantime, if you have any queries relating to your
request, please do not hesitate to contact me on 0845 330 9880. We are
open every day from 08:00 to 20:00.

If you are not satisfied with this response, please read the help-sheet
below entitled ‘Your Right to Appeal’.

Please contact me again if you need any help in the meanwhile.

Yours sincerely,

Ebbah Kwambai
Customer Service Advisor
Customer Service Centre

Any copyright in the material provided with this response is owned by TfL
or one of its subsidiary companies unless otherwise stated. The disclosure
of information does not give the person or organisation who receives it an
automatic right to re-use it in a way that would infringe copyright (for
example, by making multiple copies, publishing and issuing copies to the
public). Brief extracts of the material may be reproduced under the fair
dealing provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998
(sections 29 and 30) for the purposes of research for non-commercial
purposes, private study, criticism, review and news reporting.

Your Right to Appeal

Internal Review

If you are dissatisfied with the way TfL has handled your information
request, you can ask us to conduct an internal review of our decision.

The internal review will be conducted by someone other than the person who
made the original decision, in accordance with the complaints procedure
published on our website at [1]www.tfl.gov.uk/foi.

Requests for internal review should be addressed to:

Head of Information Access and Compliance

6^th Floor Windsor House

42 – 50

Victoria Street

London

SW1H 0TL

Complaints to the Information Commissioner

If, following the internal review, you remain dissatisfied with the way
TfL has handled your request, then you can take your complaint to:

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

A complaint form is available on the Information Commissioner’s Office
website

[2]www.ico.gov.uk

DO NOT DELETE.............................
{ticketno:[79514]}
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>

show quoted sections