Request ID: FOI-0331-2425 Date published: 23 May 2024
You asked
I am writing to request a full cost breakdown of the money spent on safety campaigns/abusive behaviour prevention campaigns on public transport in the last 10 years. This includes social media budgets and poster budgets for the flyers that are placed on buses which discourage abusive behaviour on TFL transport.
Please send a cost breakdown of the money spent each year from 2014 - 2024.
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-0331-2425
Thank you for your request received on 29 April 2024 asking for information about expenditure on safety campaigns.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we do hold the information you require. You asked:
I am writing to request a full cost breakdown of the money spent on safety campaigns/abusive behaviour prevention campaigns on public transport in the last 10 years. This includes social media budgets and poster budgets for the flyers that are placed on buses which discourage abusive behaviour on TFL transport.
Please send a cost breakdown of the money spent each year from 2014 - 2024.
The safety of our customers and staff is, and always will be our main priority. Over the course of 10 years (between 2014-2024) there have been multiple different dedicated safety and antisocial behaviour campaigns including:
• Encouraging safer travel behaviours on public transport to reduce customer injuries including slips and trips • Tackling violence against women and girls • Tackling serious worrying incidents including hate crime and staff abuse • Tackling inconsiderate travel behaviour, encouraging customers to be more kind and more considerate of other passengers • Safety and reassurance messages during the COVID-19 pandemic • Supporting the DfT 'see it, say it, sorted' counter-terrorism campaign • Encouraging safer travel at night
Safety and antisocial behaviour budgets are used to support creative production, printing and posting of on-system posters and paid media to amplify messaging across London. In addition to paid media, communications are supported through our channels including press, stakeholder and borough engagement, updates to our website, on-system whiteboard posters and PA announcements, staff engagement and social media posts.
Please find the requested information in the table below:
Safety budgets each year between 2014-2024
Financial year
Budget (£)
2014-15
540,000
2015-16
280,000
2016-17
280,000
2017-18
1,160,000
2018-19
970,000
2019-20
410,000
2020-21
5,710,000
2021-22
2,620,000
2022-23
2,130,000
2023-24
1,680,000
The rise in budget in 2017-18 is due to the creation and implementation of a new Public Transport Safety campaign to encourage safer travel behaviours.
The rise in budget in 2020-21 is due to the creation and continuation of COVID-19 safety and travel reassurance communications in line with government guidance. This cost was offset by reduced budgets across other marketing campaigns (e.g. promotional activity).
The safety budgets since 2020 have been consistently larger than pre-pandemic budgets. This is due to maintaining a strong presence of safety and travel reassurance messaging following the COVD-19 pandemic, to respond to nationwide increases in antisocial behaviour including tackling violence against women and girls, hate crime and staff abuse.
Please note, the spend in the table above has been provided based on those cost codes that are currently used for our safety and antisocial behaviour campaigns. Organisational restructures in the last ten years mean that the cost codes used to track spend have changed significantly. The older the data, the more difficult it is to accurately identify all of the cost codes that capture the relevant spend - therefore spend has been provided based on available financial information according to current structures. We have not identified legacy cost codes for safety and antisocial behaviour campaigns which are not currently used.
If this is not the information you are looking for please do not hesitate to contact me.
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
