We are a group of last year Engineering students from the Pontifical Catholic University in Chile. Working alongside our country's Transport Authorities, we are studying the current transport operators' efficiency and service level in relation to the incentives established in their contracts. Thus, we are interested to know the incentive package TfL uses to ensure the bus operators' efficiency and service level, which is reflected in the high Quality of Service Indicators that can be found on your website. We would also like to ask you whether you think this has anything to do with the bus garages' or terminals' property regime (i.e. private or state owned) and why. Thank you very much for your help,

---

TfL Ref: FOI-0143-2122 Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 21st April 2021 asking for information about London bus contracts. Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. Specifically you asked: “We are interested to know the incentive package TfL uses to ensure the bus operators' efficiency and service level, which is reflected in the high Quality of Service Indicators that can be found on your website. We would also like to ask you whether you think this has anything to do with the bus garages' or terminals' property regime (i.e. private or state owned) and why.” Note that the Freedom of Information Act relates to the provision of recorded information rather than explanation or opinion. That said, note that we contract out bus services to private operators and measure their performance, paying them in relation to how they perform. Our contracting process is explained on our website here: https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/uploads/forms/lbsl-tendering-and-contracting.pdf The operators provide the resources to operate their routes including the vehicles, drivers and garages, and accept all the operating risks associated with running the service. Details of their performance can be found on our website here: https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/bus-operator-league-tables The data on the page above comes from electronic systems that hold bus mileage by day and route, and also from our quality service indicator (QSI) results. The two attached documents provide further explanation on Quality Service Indicators. If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me. If you are considering submitting a further FOI request please think carefully about whether the request is essential at this current time, as answering FOI requests will require the use of limited resources and the attention of staff who could be supporting other essential activity. Where requests are made, please note that our response time may be impacted by the current situation. Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed. Yours sincerely, David Wells FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London

Attachments

Back to top

---