UCL - University Group Project Enquiry
Request ID: FOI-0073-2122
Date published: 04 May 2021
You asked
As part of a group design project between students in the MSc program, we have been assigned a project where we need to develop an innovative product that would help prevent the occurrence of a disease/virus pandemic. We have developed a transport sanitisation device that's installed in the roof of buses and releases sanitary liquid from a moving robot, regularly or when passengers are not in the vehicle. We just had a few questions to determine the feasibility of our product and would really appreciate a response. The questions are as follows:
1. What decrease in passenger numbers have recorded since the covid pandemic?
2. What would your budget be to invest in providing a safer environment for passengers?
3. By implementing either our or another cleaning device would you increase ticket prices, if so do you think this will effect the number of customers using your service?
4. Are there another other products/services which have been proposed to you or caught your interest?
5. Would you be willing for a some adjustments to the roof inside the bus to install our device?
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-0073-2122
Thank you for your request received on 11 April 2021 asking for information to assist with your Engineering project.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm we hold some of the information you require. You asked:
1. What decrease in passenger numbers have recorded since the covid pandemic?
We saw passenger numbers fall as low at 15 per cent at the outset of the pandemic before recovering to around 45-50 per cent before the third lockdown. We have seen numbers move up to around 60 per cent following the latest easing of restrictions.
2. What would your budget be to invest in providing a safer environment for passengers?
We are not in a normal budgetary situation. As fares have fallen so significantly, the Government is supporting us financially up to May 18. After that, we will have a clearer position of our funding position and what we might be able to invest in.
3. By implementing either our or another cleaning device would you increase ticket prices, if so do you think this will effect the number of customers using your service?
Ticket prices are set by the Mayor’s Office and, as mentioned above, we await a clearer position on our funding position from mid-May.
4. Are there another other products/services which have been proposed to you or caught your interest?
Since the early part of the pandemic, enhanced cleaning was brought in across the bus network using the best anti-viral agents and focussed on the most touched surfaces like rails and poles. Zoono is used in this process. Where random testing of cleaned surfaces has been carried out, we have not found coronavirus. The cost of using Zoono is around £12.65 for a single deck bus and £22.30 for a double deck bus. Treatment is every 21 days.
5. Would you be willing for a some adjustments to the roof inside the bus to install our device?
We would expect the developers of any such device to undertake these adjustments on one of their own test vehicles and bring the results forward to us. As mentioned above, we have effective targeted cleaning in place across the bus fleet and UCL’s Institute of Health Equity has been assisting us with research into the best safeguards we can put in place. The latest study can be found on our website: https://content.tfl.gov.uk/phase-2-assessment-of-london-bus-driver-mortality-from-covid-19.pdf.
This type of research is informing us on next steps to protect bus drivers and the wider public.
You may find it helpful to visit our website and review the problem statements (we publish new ones regularly) where we are looking for innovative solutions. Most importantly, we have a route to market in place for these challenges. You are also welcome to register on the database, so we can directly inform you of any open calls:
https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/business-and-advertisers/commercial-innovation?cid=innovation
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for some reason, please feel free to contact me.
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Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely
Gemma Jacob
Senior FOI Case Officer
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London
[email protected]
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