Recently I have been travelling through this station and have not at any point seen any staff in attendance, yet I have seen the ticket gates remain in full operation. I am therefore requesting the following information: 1. The LUL rulebook sections which details the operation of Automatic Ticket Gates (ATG's). 2.1 The minimum staffing level of Leicester Square station when the ATG's are in operation. 2.2 and when the ATG's are not in operation. 2.3 and what happens when the levels mentioned in 2.1 and 2.2 are not met. 2.4 the agreed locations where staff must be present, eg to have the most optimin view of the ATGs. 3. At what point must the gates be left in the 'open' position, in relation to Leicester Square. 4. The risk assessments for the ATG's at Leicester Square. 5. What must happen when a person (such as myself) or persons get stuck in an ATG. 5.1 What would the penalty to me be, if I pressed the Emergency plunger when I witness someone stuck in the paddles of the ATG's. 6. How do I contact staff at a station where there are no staff clearly present.

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TfL Ref: FOI-0847-1920

Thank you for your email received by Transport for London (TfL) on 22 June 2019.

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 for:

Recently I have been travelling through this station and have not at any point seen any staff in attendance, yet I have seen the ticket gates remain in full operation.

I am therefore requesting the following information:

1. The LUL rulebook sections which details the operation of Automatic Ticket Gates (ATG's).

The LUL rule books do not mention the operation of ticket gates because they only cover safety critical operations, rules and procedures. The ticket gates on our stations are deemed as low risk.

The management of the gateline is however mentioned in our Ticketing and Revenue, Book 8, ’Helping Customers’. Attached is the relevant section for guidance to staff on the gateline.

2.1 The minimum staffing level of Leicester Square station when the ATG's are in operation.

Minimum staffing levels at our stations only relate to emergency situations and evacuations and do not apply to the management of the ticket gates. Different times of the day will require different minimum staffing levels but these are related to emergency purposes only, so if a station falls below the minimum staffing level requirement then the station has to close.

2.2 and when the ATG's are not in operation.

Does not apply. Please see 2.1

2.3 and what happens when the levels mentioned in 2.1 and 2.2 are not met.

Please see 2.1

2.4 the agreed locations where staff must be present, eg to have the most optimum view of the ATGs.

• Leicester Square station does not have exact agreed locations where staff must be present otherwise there would not be any flexibility in the management of the station. Instead, staff are priorities based on need. For example, during busy periods, staff may be required to deal with numerous incidents that happen at the station.

   

• Staff are also prioritised on a risk basis and ticket gates are considered a low risk. This is because it is rare that a customer will injure themselves on the gates and if, on the rare occurrence that they do, the nature of the injury would be minor.

   

• However, a member of staff should always be in the vicinity of the gateline. This could mean assisting at the nearby ticket machines. If for any reason there was absolutely no staff available to be in the vicinity of the gateline, then staff would leave the ticket gates open. To the Area Manager’s knowledge this has never happened at Leicester Square station.

   

• In addition, Leicester Square has a Station Control Room situated in between both gate lines which is visible to customers and is staffed 24/7.

   

• During a busy period, if a customer’s ticket does not work properly in a ticket gate then the customer will usually have to step back and locate a member of staff because we don’t have a staff member located at every individual ticket gate.

   

• As per the attached gateline guidance, staff are advised to ‘monitor customer flows and manage the gateline to avoid congestion and overcrowding’

1. At what point must the gates be left in the 'open' position, in relation to Leicester Square.

    

    

   See 2.4

    

    

2. The risk assessments for the ATG's at Leicester Square.

    

    

   Please find the Customer Risk Assessment for Leicester Square station attached – hazard 7 covers a person getting stuck in a ticket gate.

    

    

3. What must happen when a person (such as myself) or persons get stuck in an ATG.

    

    

   See 2.4

    

    

   5.1 What would the penalty to me be, if I pressed the Emergency plunger when I witness someone stuck in the paddles of the ATG's.

    

    

   We do not encourage customers to use any station equipment as they are not trained to do so. Operating the Emergency Plunger could introduce additional risks to the station as they are key in how congestion is managed.

    

    

   If you witness someone get stuck in a ticket gate then please alert a member of staff as there should always be someone in the immediate vicinity of the gateline who is able to help.

    

    

4. How do I contact staff at a station where there are no staff clearly present.

There are always staff present at the station. There should always be someone in the immediate vicinity of the gateline and the station control room in the centre of the ticket hall is staffed 24/7.

As I said before, the Area Manager for Leicester Square has offered to meet with you or call you to discuss the issues you’ve raised. You can email us directly to arrange this at FOI ‘at’ tfl.gov.uk, quoting the above reference number. Our contact details can also be found on our website at https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/transparency/freedom-of-information

If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for some 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

Eva Hextall

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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