Ticket and Products (Specimen Images) and Training Materials

The request was partially successful.

Dear Merseytravel,

Please provide the following information, in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act:

1. Copies of, (the latest version of), Merseytravel training material relating to retail/commercial training for staff and/or third party partners, such as ferry, bus or rail operators. This may include details of ticket issuing procedures, specimen ticket/pass/smartcard/product images, ticket restriction text, ticket checking procedures or instructions, product boundary/area maps, handouts, course assessments, lesson plans and course objectives. This training may be delivered to staff working at travel centres, Revenue Protection teams or similar roles.

2. Specimen images or artwork of all Merseytravel staff travel documentation, (such as permits, authority to travel documentation, smartcards and gate passes -along with details of their respective validity areas, time and day restrictions.

3. Specimen images or artwork of all Merseytravel managed fare/travel documentation, (including special, limited or discontinued but still in circulation editions), paper tickets, smartcards. For example, TRIO, SOLO, Railpass, Walrus, Saveaway etc (not an exhaustive list). Please include all possible combinations, e.g. for the TRIO, a copy of all zonal/area variants, as well as weekly/monthly/annual/off peak/student term etc. For the avoidance of doubt this should include the blank photocard (back of the ticket), as well as the sticker(s) affixed to the front and normally date stamped.

4. Specimen images or artwork of concessionary travel passes or permits issued to the public or external organisations, particularly ENCTS (or similar such as the Merseyside only variant), Student or scholar products etc - again, along with details of their validity areas and associated restrictions. For example, a copy of the special variant of TRIO/SOLO tickets issued to the Local Authorities valid for one student year, (but not valid after 8pm).

5. Specimen images or artwork of any other ticket, product, smartcard or documentation that is issued, produced or managed by Merseytravel which allows free or reduced travel on a mode of transport, (whether train, bus, ferry or otherwise).

The specimen images or artwork provided in each case should include all parts of the relevant product, (such as front and reverse views, along with any other document required to support it, such as a Photocard).

In the interests of security or fraud prevention, it is acceptable for certain items from the above list to be marked "SPECIMEN" or similar - however, any preventative measures added in respect of this should not obscure any text or prevent the image etc from being fully examined. This marking should only take place where absolutely necessary.

Yours faithfully,

John Fowler

Henderson, Andrew, Merseytravel

Dear Mr Fowler

LFS/AH/RSN15393

Thank you for your email. Your request is being dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and will be answered within twenty working days.

If you have any queries about this request do not hesitate to contact me. Please quote the reference number above in any future communications.

Yours sincerely,

Andrew Henderson

Senior Information Management Officer | Merseytravel | Mann Island, PO Box 1976, Liverpool, L69 3HN
Office: 0151 330 1679 | Email: [email address]

Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

show quoted sections

Henderson, Andrew, Merseytravel

14 Attachments

Dear Mr Fowler

 

LFS/AH/RSN15393

 

Thank you for your recent request made under the Freedom of Information
Act. Please find Merseytravel’s response below.

 

For your information, a great deal of information relating to ticketing is
already in the public domain on [1]Merseytravel’s website at
[2]http://www.merseytravel.gov.uk/tickets/P....

 

1. Copies of, (the latest version of), Merseytravel training material
relating to retail/commercial training for staff and/or third party
partners, such as ferry, bus or rail operators. This may include details
of ticket issuing procedures, specimen ticket/pass/smartcard/product
images, ticket restriction text, ticket checking procedures or
instructions, product boundary/area maps, handouts, course assessments,
lesson plans and course objectives. This training may be delivered to
staff working at travel centres, Revenue Protection teams or similar
roles.

 

Please find attached Season Ticket guidance booklets that are issued to
staff, the Hubs Bus Station Procedure and Smart Tickets Staff Information
Pack. Due to the file size, I will send the Ticket Issuer Instructions in
a separate email.

 

Please note that the names and telephone numbers of junior Merseytravel
officers have been redacted from the Smart Tickets Staff Information Pack
in accordance with Section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act as
disclosure would constitute a breach of the Data Protection Act 1998. The
officers do not meet the Information Commissioner’s definition of a senior
employee, nor do they occupy a primarily public-facing role. As a result I
do not consider that disclosure would constitute the fair and lawful
processing of the officers’ data, and would therefore breach the First
Data Protection Principle.

 

The work of Revenue Protection staff is, by its definition, concerned with
ensuring that the integrity of the ticketing process is maintained. Any
related information about this process is therefore potentially
commercially sensitive, and Merseytravel must give consideration to
Section 43 of the Act. Section 43 is a qualified, prejudice-based
exemption, and is therefore subject to a public interest test. The
Information Commissioner’s Office has issued guidance on Section 43, which
can be viewed on their website at [3]this link.

 

The public interest argument for disclosure is that it allows a greater
degree of scrutiny over how public money is spent in the delivery of
Merseytravel’s work, while contributing to transparency over how decisions
have been reached. It is important that public authorities allow their
decisions to be scrutinised by the public to ensure that funds are managed
appropriately.

 

The public interest factors to withhold the information relate to the
prejudicial impact that the disclosure would have on the commercial
interests of any person (including the public authority itself). It would
not, for example, be in the public interest to disclose information about
the commercial activities of a particular body if that information was not
common knowledge and would be likely to be used by competitors in a
particular market to gain a competitive advantage.

 

In this particular case, if information relating to the work of Revenue
Protection staff were to be disclosed, this could be used to attempt to
circumvent the established procedures for identifying ticket misuse. This
would allow an insight into how the work is carried out effectively and
potentially allow those who are actively misusing tickets the chance to
reduce their chance of detection.

 

Disclosure of information under the Freedom of Information Act is viewed
to the public at large rather than simply to the individual requester, and
no suggestion is made about how you may use this information.

 

In this instance, it is Merseytravel’s opinion that the balance of factors
against disclosure of the information outweighs those in favour of
release, and is therefore relying on Section 43(2) to withhold the
requested information.

 

2. Specimen images or artwork of all Merseytravel staff travel
documentation, (such as permits, authority to travel documentation,
smartcards and gate passes -along with details of their respective
validity areas, time and day restrictions.

 

Please find attached documents related to staff use of Walrus smartcard
and Mersey Tunnels Fast Tag. All information relating to validity areas
and restrictions can be found on our website, and are therefore exempt
from disclosure under Section 21 of the Act as they are reasonably
accessible by other means.

 

3. Specimen images or artwork of all Merseytravel managed fare/travel
documentation,  (including special, limited or discontinued but still in
circulation editions), paper tickets, smartcards. For example, TRIO, SOLO,
Railpass, Walrus, Saveaway etc (not an exhaustive list). Please include
all possible combinations, e.g. for the TRIO, a copy of all zonal/area
variants, as well as weekly/monthly/annual/off peak/student term etc. For
the avoidance of doubt this should include the  blank photocard (back of
the ticket), as well as the sticker(s) affixed to the front and normally
date stamped.

 

Please find attached specimen images of the Solo and Trio travel passes,
which, in order to prevent their reuse for fraudulent purposes, are
provided in monochrome. Zones details are printed on the passes when
issued. All information relating to validity areas and restrictions can be
found on our website. Other ticketing images are included in the attached
documents.

 

4. Specimen images or artwork of concessionary travel passes or permits
issued to the public or external organisations, particularly ENCTS (or
similar such as the Merseyside only variant),  Student or scholar products
etc - again, along with details of their validity areas and associated
restrictions. For example, a copy of the special variant of TRIO/SOLO
tickets issued to the Local Authorities valid for one student year, (but
not valid after 8pm).

 

Please find attached specimen images of the Student Solo and Trio travel
passes. Images of other concessionary passes can be found in the documents
attached. All information relating to validity areas and restrictions can
be found on our website.

 

5. Specimen images or artwork of any other ticket, product, smartcard or
documentation that is issued, produced or managed by Merseytravel which
allows free or reduced travel on a mode of transport, (whether train, bus,
ferry or otherwise).

 

N/A

 

I trust that this information is of interest to you.

 

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the
right under the Act to ask for an internal review, which should be
addressed to:

Mrs Julie Watling

Legal, Democratic Services & Procurement Manager

Merseytravel

PO Box 1976

Liverpool

L69 3HN

[4][email address]

 

If you are not content with the result of your internal review, you also
have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner, whose address
is

The Information Commissioner’s Office,

Wycliffe House,

Water Lane,

Wilmslow,

Cheshire SK9 5AF

[5]www.ico.gov.uk

 

Yours sincerely

 

Andy Henderson

Senior Information Management Officer | Merseytravel | Mann Island, PO
Box 1976, Liverpool, L69 3HN

Office: 0151 330 1679 | Email: [6][email address]

 

Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

 

The information supplied to you continues to be protected by copyright. 
You are free to use it for your own purposes, including for private study
and non-commercial research and for any other purpose authorised by an
exception in current copyright law.  Documents (except photographs) can
also be used in the UK without requiring permission for the purposes of
news reporting.  Any other reuse, for example, commercial publication
would require the permission of the copyright holder.

show quoted sections

Henderson, Andrew, Merseytravel

4 Attachments

Dear Mr Fowler

 

LFS/AH/RSN15393

 

Please find attached the Ticket Issuer Instructions referred to in my
previous email.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Andy Henderson

Senior Information Management Officer | Merseytravel | Mann Island, PO
Box 1976, Liverpool, L69 3HN

Office: 0151 330 1679 | Email: [email address]

 

Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

 

 

From: Henderson, Andrew
Sent: 03 February 2017 10:21
To: '[FOI #381571 email]'
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Ticket and Products (Specimen
Images) and Training Materials RSN15393

 

Dear Mr Fowler

 

LFS/AH/RSN15393

 

Thank you for your recent request made under the Freedom of Information
Act. Please find Merseytravel’s response below.

 

For your information, a great deal of information relating to ticketing is
already in the public domain on [1]Merseytravel’s website at
[2]http://www.merseytravel.gov.uk/tickets/P....

 

1. Copies of, (the latest version of), Merseytravel training material
relating to retail/commercial training for staff and/or third party
partners, such as ferry, bus or rail operators. This may include details
of ticket issuing procedures, specimen ticket/pass/smartcard/product
images, ticket restriction text, ticket checking procedures or
instructions, product boundary/area maps, handouts, course assessments,
lesson plans and course objectives. This training may be delivered to
staff working at travel centres, Revenue Protection teams or similar
roles.

 

Please find attached Season Ticket guidance booklets that are issued to
staff, the Hubs Bus Station Procedure and Smart Tickets Staff Information
Pack. Due to the file size, I will send the Ticket Issuer Instructions in
a separate email.

 

Please note that the names and telephone numbers of junior Merseytravel
officers have been redacted from the Smart Tickets Staff Information Pack
in accordance with Section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act as
disclosure would constitute a breach of the Data Protection Act 1998. The
officers do not meet the Information Commissioner’s definition of a senior
employee, nor do they occupy a primarily public-facing role. As a result I
do not consider that disclosure would constitute the fair and lawful
processing of the officers’ data, and would therefore breach the First
Data Protection Principle.

 

The work of Revenue Protection staff is, by its definition, concerned with
ensuring that the integrity of the ticketing process is maintained. Any
related information about this process is therefore potentially
commercially sensitive, and Merseytravel must give consideration to
Section 43 of the Act. Section 43 is a qualified, prejudice-based
exemption, and is therefore subject to a public interest test. The
Information Commissioner’s Office has issued guidance on Section 43, which
can be viewed on their website at [3]this link.

 

The public interest argument for disclosure is that it allows a greater
degree of scrutiny over how public money is spent in the delivery of
Merseytravel’s work, while contributing to transparency over how decisions
have been reached. It is important that public authorities allow their
decisions to be scrutinised by the public to ensure that funds are managed
appropriately.

 

The public interest factors to withhold the information relate to the
prejudicial impact that the disclosure would have on the commercial
interests of any person (including the public authority itself). It would
not, for example, be in the public interest to disclose information about
the commercial activities of a particular body if that information was not
common knowledge and would be likely to be used by competitors in a
particular market to gain a competitive advantage.

 

In this particular case, if information relating to the work of Revenue
Protection staff were to be disclosed, this could be used to attempt to
circumvent the established procedures for identifying ticket misuse. This
would allow an insight into how the work is carried out effectively and
potentially allow those who are actively misusing tickets the chance to
reduce their chance of detection.

 

Disclosure of information under the Freedom of Information Act is viewed
to the public at large rather than simply to the individual requester, and
no suggestion is made about how you may use this information.

 

In this instance, it is Merseytravel’s opinion that the balance of factors
against disclosure of the information outweighs those in favour of
release, and is therefore relying on Section 43(2) to withhold the
requested information.

 

2. Specimen images or artwork of all Merseytravel staff travel
documentation, (such as permits, authority to travel documentation,
smartcards and gate passes -along with details of their respective
validity areas, time and day restrictions.

 

Please find attached documents related to staff use of Walrus smartcard
and Mersey Tunnels Fast Tag. All information relating to validity areas
and restrictions can be found on our website, and are therefore exempt
from disclosure under Section 21 of the Act as they are reasonably
accessible by other means.

 

3. Specimen images or artwork of all Merseytravel managed fare/travel
documentation,  (including special, limited or discontinued but still in
circulation editions), paper tickets, smartcards. For example, TRIO, SOLO,
Railpass, Walrus, Saveaway etc (not an exhaustive list). Please include
all possible combinations, e.g. for the TRIO, a copy of all zonal/area
variants, as well as weekly/monthly/annual/off peak/student term etc. For
the avoidance of doubt this should include the  blank photocard (back of
the ticket), as well as the sticker(s) affixed to the front and normally
date stamped.

 

Please find attached specimen images of the Solo and Trio travel passes,
which, in order to prevent their reuse for fraudulent purposes, are
provided in monochrome. Zones details are printed on the passes when
issued. All information relating to validity areas and restrictions can be
found on our website. Other ticketing images are included in the attached
documents.

 

4. Specimen images or artwork of concessionary travel passes or permits
issued to the public or external organisations, particularly ENCTS (or
similar such as the Merseyside only variant),  Student or scholar products
etc - again, along with details of their validity areas and associated
restrictions. For example, a copy of the special variant of TRIO/SOLO
tickets issued to the Local Authorities valid for one student year, (but
not valid after 8pm).

 

Please find attached specimen images of the Student Solo and Trio travel
passes. Images of other concessionary passes can be found in the documents
attached. All information relating to validity areas and restrictions can
be found on our website.

 

5. Specimen images or artwork of any other ticket, product, smartcard or
documentation that is issued, produced or managed by Merseytravel which
allows free or reduced travel on a mode of transport, (whether train, bus,
ferry or otherwise).

 

N/A

 

I trust that this information is of interest to you.

 

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the
right under the Act to ask for an internal review, which should be
addressed to:

Mrs Julie Watling

Legal, Democratic Services & Procurement Manager

Merseytravel

PO Box 1976

Liverpool

L69 3HN

[4][email address]

 

If you are not content with the result of your internal review, you also
have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner, whose address
is

The Information Commissioner’s Office,

Wycliffe House,

Water Lane,

Wilmslow,

Cheshire SK9 5AF

[5]www.ico.gov.uk

 

Yours sincerely

 

Andy Henderson

Senior Information Management Officer | Merseytravel | Mann Island, PO
Box 1976, Liverpool, L69 3HN

Office: 0151 330 1679 | Email: [6][email address]

 

Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

 

The information supplied to you continues to be protected by copyright. 
You are free to use it for your own purposes, including for private study
and non-commercial research and for any other purpose authorised by an
exception in current copyright law.  Documents (except photographs) can
also be used in the UK without requiring permission for the purposes of
news reporting.  Any other reuse, for example, commercial publication
would require the permission of the copyright holder.

show quoted sections