Request ID: FOI-0553-2324 Date published: 19 June 2023
You asked
This is a freedom of information request under the FOI Act (2000):
- How many complaints have there been about the temperature within the London Underground being too hot – please can I get a monthly break down, and tube line breakdown from 01/01/18 to 23/05/2023?
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-0553-2324
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 23rd May 2023 asking about the number of complaints received by TfL about temperatures on the London Underground.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.
Specifically you asked:
“How many complaints have there been about the temperature within the London Underground being too hot – please can I get a monthly break down, and tube line breakdown from 01/01/18 to 23/05/2023?
I can confirm that we hold the information you require.
The table below provides the requested information from the beginning of 2020. This shows customer complaints received in that time logged against the code “Temperature - too hot”. That code was not in use prior to 2020, and so for the period between 1January 2018 and 31 December 2019 there is no way of automatically sourcing the data. As a result, we would have to consider what codes may have been used to log such complaints and then individually review all of those that might have been about the temperature being too high to find the actual numbers. Unfortunately, there is no quick or efficient way of undertaking this. For example, excessive heat might potentially have been logged using the ‘safety’ coding, but this coding could of course have been used for numerous other types of complaint. The information for 2018 and 2019 is therefore being exempted under section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act, which applies where it would cost more than £450 to determine if the requested information is held, and to then locate, retrieve or extract it from elsewhere. This is calculated at a rate of £25 per hour, equivalent to 18 hours work. We have identified over 1,000 complaints that would need reviewing on this basis. It is not possible to review this number within 18 hours to determine those that fall within the scope if your request. However, that said, it is likely that the majority of those complaints were about different subjects, given the broad scope of the coding.
Number of complaints received against the code “Temperature – too hot” between January 2020 and May 2023:
Row Labels
Not specified
Bakerloo
Central
District
Hammersmith & City and Circle
Jubilee
Metropolitan
Northern
Piccadilly
Victoria
Grand Total
2020 Jan
1
1
2020 Aug
2
1
1
4
2020 Nov
1
1
2020 Dec
1
1
2021 Jan
1
1
2021 May
2
2
4
2021 Jun
1
2
3
2021 Jul
1
1
1
3
2021 Aug
1
1
1
3
2021 Sep
2
1
3
2021 Oct
1
1
2021 Nov
1
1
1
3
2022 Jan
1
1
2022 Apr
1
1
2022 Jun
3
1
1
5
10
2022 Jul
3
2
2
7
2022 Aug
1
7
1
3
1
1
1
4
19
2022 Sep
1
2
1
17
21
2022 Oct
1
2
1
18
22
2022 Nov
2
1
13
16
2023 Apr
2
2
2023 Jan
1
1
2023 Feb
1
1
2
2023 Mar
1
1
2023 May
2
2
Grand Total
1
7
19
6
2
11
2
7
9
69
133
We monitor temperatures across the London Underground in order to inform our cooling initiatives. Average temperatures split by line for the period 2013-2020 are available on the GLA website at London Underground Average Monthly Temperatures - London Datastore. Air-conditioned Tube trains are in operation on 40 per cent of the Underground network and there are enhanced tunnel ventilation systems on both the Victoria and Jubilee lines. On older parts of the Tube network which have fewer ventilation shafts, we have introduced a range of station cooling systems including industrial-sized fans and chiller units to pump in cold air. New air-conditioned trains will be introduced on the Piccadilly line from 2025, giving customers more comfortable journeys. While TfL is hoping to follow the introduction of new trains on the Piccadilly line with new signalling, and then to upgrade the rest of the Deep Tube lines, such large-scale investment will not be possible without continued capital investment from the Government from April 2024. London Underground also provides customer travel advice during hot weather periods and also has operational hot weather plans to minimise delays to customers.
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.
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
