PCN 34J charges issued by fixed cameras

The request was refused by Transport for London.

Dear Transport for London,

Please provide the number of PCNs issued for code 34J contraventions (bus lane) by fixed position traffic enforcement cameras. Please provide this data broken down by camera location and year, from 1st January 2015 to the latest available full year.

Yours faithfully,

Alex Rigg

FOI, Transport for London

Dear Alex Rigg

 

Our ref: FOI-0378-2021/GH

 

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 12
June 2020 asking for information about PCN 34J charges issued by fixed
cameras.

 

Please note, the Government has announced a series of measures to tackle
the coronavirus. It is essential for London, that we continue to provide a
safe transport network for essential journeys.

 

In current circumstances, we are not able to answer FOI requests readily
and we ask that you please do not make a request to us at present.

 

Answering FOI requests will require the use of limited resources and the
attention of staff who could be supporting other essential activity. In
any event, please note that our response time will be affected by the
current situation and so you may wish to reconsider the timing of this
request. Please notify us as soon as possible if you would like to
withdraw your request at the current time.

 

Should you wish to proceed with the request we will aim to issue a
response by 10 July 2020 in accordance with the Freedom of Information
Act 2000 and our information access policy. We publish a substantial
range of information on our website on subjects including operational
performance, contracts, expenditure, journey data, governance and our
financial performance. This includes data which is frequently asked for in
FOI requests or other public queries. Please check
[1]http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/transpar... to see if this helps you.

 

We will publish anonymised versions of requests and responses on the
[2]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

 

Graham Hurt

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

show quoted sections

 

References

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2. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/
3. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/

FOI, Transport for London

1 Attachment

Dear Alex Rigg

 

Our ref: FOI-0378-2021/GH

 

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 12
June 2020 asking for information about PCN 34J charges issued by fixed
cameras.

 

Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 and our information access policy.

 

I can confirm that we do hold the information you require. However, in
accordance with the FOI Act, we are not obliged to supply the information
requested as it is subject to a statutory exemption to the right of access
to information under section 31 of the FOI Act, which relates to law
enforcement. Specifically, we are refusing your request under section
31(1)(b), which relates to information whose disclosure would be likely to
prejudice the apprehension or prosecution of offenders, and section
31(1)(g), which relates to information whose disclosure would be likely to
prejudice the exercise by any public authority of its functions or any of
the purposes listed in subsection 31(2) of the FOI Act. In this case, this
is section 31(2)(a) – the purpose of ascertaining whether any person has
failed to comply with the law.

 

The release of the requested data would reveal any locations at which
enforcement activity is not carried out, and could therefore be used those
who wish to use restricted bus lanes and avoid penalty charges for doing
so. Whilst we make no suggestion that you would use this information for
anything other than you own personal interest, disclosure of this
information to you has to be regarded as a disclosure to ‘the public at
large’.

 

The use of this exemption is subject to an assessment of the public
interest in relation to the disclosure of the information concerned. We
recognise the need for openness and transparency by public authorities,
but in this instance feel that balance lies in favour of withholding the
information to ensure that we are able to manage traffic on the TfL Road
Network. It would be strongly against the public interest to release any
information that would undermine this. We consider that the release of
this information would lead to increased traffic problems as some
motorists may seek to take advantage of the information by using bus lanes
in areas that we do not currently enforce, and therefore delaying bus
services. This would in turn have a further effect that TfL would have to
divert further resources to enforcing more zones, which would be likely to
involve increased staff and direct costs. It would not be in the public
interest to limit TfL’s ability to make the most efficient use of its
limited funds in this manner.

 

We are able to advise that we have not used fixed position bus lane
cameras since circa 2008. Fixed position suggests the camera is unable to
move as in Pan Zoom and Tilt which all of our street CCTV cameras can do.

 

Please note, the Government has announced a series of measures to tackle
the coronavirus. It is essential for London, that we continue to provide a
safe transport network for essential journeys.

 

In current circumstances, we are not able to answer FOI requests readily
and we ask that you please do not make a request to us at present.

 

Answering FOI requests will require the use of limited resources and the
attention of staff who could be supporting other essential activity. In
any event, please note that our response time will be affected by the
current situation.

 

If you are not satisfied with this response please see the attached
information sheet for details of your right to appeal.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Graham Hurt

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

show quoted sections

 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/