University bus service subsidies

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Dear Imperial College London,

I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

I would like to know:

1. The subsidies provided by the university, to external bus companies operating university bus routes, for the last 5 complete academic years (2014/15 to 2018/19), broken down by the following where possible:
o Student travel
o University staff travel
o Any other subsidy provided
If the breakdown is not possible, a single subsidy figure for each academic year would be acceptable.

2. The expenditure on, and income from, any university provided bus services, including shuttle buses, for the last 5 complete academic years (2014/15 to 2018/19), broken down by the following where possible:
o Student travel
o University staff travel
o Bus staff salary
o Equipment costs, covering vehicles and facilities
o Any other operating costs
If the breakdown is not possible, a single expenditure and single income figure for each academic year would be acceptable.

3. The number of complaints received by the university regarding university bus services, for the last 5 complete academic years (2014/15 to 2018/19).

If the data is collected in financial years, rather than academic years, please do provide the information in this format, for the last 5 financial years (including 2018-19 if possible), making it clear which format has been used.

Yours faithfully,

Adam Hodgson

IMPFOI, Imperial College London

Dear Mr Hodgson

This is to acknowledge receipt of your request below, made under the Freedom of Information Act. The College will respond to your request by 15th April 2020.

Kind regards,

Freedom of Information Team
Imperial College London

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IMPFOI, Imperial College London

Dear Mr Hodgson

Thank you for your recent Freedom of Information request. Please find below the College's response to your questions.

"1. The subsidies provided by the university, to external bus companies operating university bus routes, for the last 5 complete academic years (2014/15 to 2018/19), broken down by the following where possible:
o Student travel
o University staff travel
o Any other subsidy provided
If the breakdown is not possible, a single subsidy figure for each academic year would be acceptable.

2. The expenditure on, and income from, any university provided bus services, including shuttle buses, for the last 5 complete academic years (2014/15 to 2018/19), broken down by the following where possible:
o Student travel
o University staff travel
o Bus staff salary
o Equipment costs, covering vehicles and facilities o Any other operating costs If the breakdown is not possible, a single expenditure and single income figure for each academic year would be acceptable."

Between 2014/15 and 2016/17, the College ran its own fleet of 4 17-seat minibuses, for the College's staff and students to travel at no cost between South Kensington and the White City/Hammersmith campuses, on weekdays in term time.

In 2017/18, the College outsourced its fleet of 4 17-seat minibuses, for the College's staff and students to travel at no cost between South Kensington and the White City/Hammersmith campus, on weekdays in term time.

Since February 2018, the company is using 2 x 38 seat coaches in weekdays during term time, and 1 x 38 seat coach on weekdays out of term time, for the College's staff and students to travel at no cost between South Kensington and the White City/Hammersmith campuses.

Further information about this service is available here: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/estates-facil...

For the period 2014/15 to 2016/17, the approximate costs per year break down as follows:

Staff costs: £104,000
Vehicle costs (includes: rental, maintenance, fuel): £26,000

Between the completion of the 2016/17 academic year and the start of the 2017/18 academic year, the College changed arrangements and this incurred a cost of approximately £26,000.

The costs per year with the external company for academic years 2017/18 and 2018/19 is £214,000.

No fares or fees are payable and there is therefore no income derived from this service.

"3. The number of complaints received by the university regarding university bus services, for the last 5 complete academic years (2014/15 to 2018/19)."

Between 2014/15 and 2016/17, no formal complaints were made about the service. A total of 65 emails, or informal complaints, were received regarding the service.

In 2017/18, the coach company received 40 complaints. Please note that in the 2017/18 academic year the Chemistry Department started to move to the White City campus, and the majority of the complaints refer to the numbers of people unable to board the buses.

In 2018/19 the coach company received 30 complaints. The majority of these were in regard to the timings of the services.

If you are unhappy with the way that we have handled your request, you can ask us to conduct a review. Please make your representation in writing within 40 days of the date you received this response. If you remain dissatisfied with how Imperial College has handled your request you may then approach the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Kind regards,

Freedom of Information Team
Imperial College London

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