Bus stop closure and diversion charges

The request was refused by Transport for London.

Dear Transport for London,

Please can you provide the amount of money that was requested via invoice from Streetworks promoters/event organisers for the provision of services relating to temporary changes to the bus network - ie the closure of bus stops or organisation of bus diversions.

Please provide data for the last five years, and a breakdown of charges for works/events in each London Borough.

Yours faithfully,

Paula Simmonds

FOI, Transport for London

Dear Ms Simmonds,

 

TfL Ref: FOI-1772-2122

 

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 5^th
November 2021 asking for information about bus stop closure and diversion
charges.

 

Your request will be processed in accordance with the requirements of the
Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. 

 

A response will be sent to you by 3^rd December 2021.

 

We will publish anonymised versions of requests and responses on the
[1]www.tfl.gov.uk website. We will not publish your name and we will send
a copy of the response to you before it is published on our website.

 

In the meantime, if you would like to discuss this matter further, please
do not hesitate to contact me.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

David Wells

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

 

 

 

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FOI, Transport for London

Dear Ms Simmonds,

 

TfL Ref: FOI-1772-2122

 

I am writing further to my email below of 10^th November 2021.

 

Having liaised with colleagues in our buses team I am afraid we are unable
to identfy the exact information you are after. Please can you clarify /
provide further explanation?

 

You wrote:

 

“Please can you provide the amount of money that was requested via invoice
from Streetworks promoters/event organisers for the provision of services
relating to temporary changes to the bus network - ie the closure of bus
stops or organisation of bus diversions.

 

Please provide data for the last five years, and a breakdown of charges
for works/events in each London Borough.”

 

When you write “..the amount of money that was requested via invoice
from…” do you mean that the money was requested by TfL or by the
“Streetworks promoters / event organisers”?

 

Can you further clarify exactly what is meant by “Streetworks promoters /
event organisers"? and the basis on which they are being invoiced / are
invoicing TfL for temporary changes to the bus network - possibly by way
of an example?

 

Note that under the Freedom of Information Act there are limits on the
time we are required to spend determining if information is held, and the
time then spent locating, retrieving or extracting that information from
elsewhere. Therefore, the narrower the scope of the request the more
likely it is we will be able to respond positively within the costs limit.

 

At this juncture I cannot confirm what information is held in relation to
your request, nor whether any exemptions apply to it.

 

Please note that your case has been put on hold awaiting the clarification
requested and the twenty working day deadline for response will reset once
that clarification is received. If we hear nothing further from you by
10^th December 2021 your case will be closed and any subsequent response
will be treated as a new request.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

David Wells

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

 

 

 

From: FOI
Sent: 10 November 2021 11:30
To: 'Paula Simmonds' <[FOI #804497 email]>
Subject: FOI-1772-2122 Bus stop closure and diversion charges CRM:0139505

 

Dear Ms Simmonds,

 

TfL Ref: FOI-1772-2122

 

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 5^th
November 2021 asking for information about bus stop closure and diversion
charges.

 

Your request will be processed in accordance with the requirements of the
Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. 

 

A response will be sent to you by 3^rd December 2021.

 

We will publish anonymised versions of requests and responses on the
[1]www.tfl.gov.uk website. We will not publish your name and we will send
a copy of the response to you before it is published on our website.

 

In the meantime, if you would like to discuss this matter further, please
do not hesitate to contact me.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

David Wells

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

 

 

 

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Dear FOI,

When a utility company, individual or other entity requires TfL to close a bus stop temporarily or organise a bus diversion they are charged for this by TfL.

I would like to know, broken down by London Borough as per the timescales below, the value of invoices submitted to these entities.

Yours sincerely,

Paula Simmonds

FOI, Transport for London

Dear Ms Simmonds,

 

TfL Ref: FOI-1772-2122

 

Thank you for your email of 19^th November 2021 clarifying your earlier
request.

 

Your request will be processed in accordance with the requirements of the
Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. 

 

A response will be sent to you by 17^th December 2021.

 

We will publish anonymised versions of requests and responses on the
www.tfl.gov.uk website. We will not publish your name and we will send a
copy of the response to you before it is published on our website.

 

In the meantime, if you would like to discuss this matter further, please
do not hesitate to contact me.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

David Wells

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

 

 

 

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FOI, Transport for London

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Simmonds,

 

TfL Ref: FOI-1772-2122

 

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 5^th
November 2021 asking for information about bus stop closure and diversion
charges.

 

Specifically you asked:

 

“Please can you provide the amount of money that was requested via invoice
from Streetworks promoters/event organisers for the provision of services
relating to temporary changes to the bus network - ie the closure of bus
stops or organisation of bus diversions.

 

Please provide data for the last five years, and a breakdown of charges
for works/events in each London Borough.”

 

On 19^th November 2021 this was clarified as follows:

 

“When a utility company, individual or other entity requires TfL to close
a bus stop temporarily or organise a bus diversion they are charged for
this by TfL.

 

I would like to know, broken down by London Borough as per the timescales
below, the value of invoices submitted to these entities.”

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of
the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. 

 

I can confirm that we hold the information you require. However, it is not
possibe to source the requested information within the costs limit for
responding to FOI cases as set out under section 12 of the Freedom of
Information Act. Under section 12 TfL is not required to provide
information if it would cost more than £450 to determine if the
information is held, and to then locate, retrieve or extract that
information from elsewhere. This is calculated at a rate of £25 per hour,
equivalent to 18 hours work. The costs exemption applies in this instance
because the information requested has not previously been collated in the
format requested. The systems for instructing a bus stop closure and the
system which processes the invoices are separate and it is not possible to
refence one against the other without conducting a manual trawl of
records. We estimate that there are approximately 15,000 bus stop closures
per year, and in order to provide the data requested, by borough, we would
need to look at the different records for each and every closure to
extract the information. This is not possible within the 18 hour limit.

 

In order to bring your request within the costs limit you may wish to
reframe it to narrow its scope and to focus on the information that is of
most importance to you. For example, I understand it may be possible for
us to supply the total value of such invoices by year if this is of any
value to you.

 

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to
appeal.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

David Wells

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

 

 

 

From: FOI
Sent: 22 November 2021 11:29
To: 'Paula Simmonds' <[FOI #804497 email]>
Subject: FOI-1772-2122 Bus stop closure and diversion charges CRM:0139505

 

Dear Ms Simmonds,

 

TfL Ref: FOI-1772-2122

 

Thank you for your email of 19^th November 2021 clarifying your earlier
request.

 

Your request will be processed in accordance with the requirements of the
Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. 

 

A response will be sent to you by 17^th December 2021.

 

We will publish anonymised versions of requests and responses on the
[1]www.tfl.gov.uk website. We will not publish your name and we will send
a copy of the response to you before it is published on our website.

 

In the meantime, if you would like to discuss this matter further, please
do not hesitate to contact me.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

David Wells

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

 

 

 

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