Request ID: FOI-0875-2122 Date published: 19 August 2021
You asked
A condition of carriage requires face masks to be worn u less exempt. Many are not wearing them. In the past 2 weeks how many people have been fined or denied carriage. How many officers are employed to police tbe policy.
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-0875-2122
Thank you for your request received on 2 August 2021 asking for information about the use of face coverings on public transport.
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 do hold the information you require. Passengers not wearing a face covering who are not exempt, will be reminded to put on a face covering. TfL enforcement officers will continue to support our frontline colleagues and take action, which can include refusing entry or instructing non-exempt customers without face coverings to leave. Our policing partners will continue to be on our network, and while they cannot enforce our conditions of carriage, they will support us in ensuring we offer a safe environment to all our customers and colleagues and deter any crime and anti-social behaviour. You asked: In the past 2 weeks how many people have been fined or denied carriage Our Enforcement Officers are focusing on educating and encouraging non-exempt passengers to protect the health of others and comply with the mandatory requirements, as such we expect these numbers to be low. Between Monday 19 July 2021 and Monday 2 August 2021 58 people were prevented from boarding a TfL service or entering a TfL station and 14 were directed to leave a TfL service or station. No fixed penalty notices have been issued in this time. Currently, the Conditions of Carriage do not allow for Fixed Penalty Notices to be issued for breaches, but the Mayor has asked the Government to reintroduce national legislation, or to work with him and TfL on amendments to legislation and byelaw-making powers, to enable TfL to more robustly enforce the wearing of face coverings on the TfL network and maintain public confidence in London’s transport services. How many officers are employed to police the policy The requirement to wear a face covering continues to be a condition of carriage on all TfL services from July 19 2021 when the national regulations changed, and the Mayor has said TfL will keep this, subject to ongoing review. Conditions of Carriage are contractual conditions between passengers and TfL, with existing conditions. The Conditions of Carriage can be found on our website: https://content.tfl.gov.uk/tfl-conditions-of-carriage.pdf. TfL’s frontline station staff and bus drivers will continue to remind passengers that face coverings are a requirement. TfL’s specially trained enforcement officers who patrol the transport network to ensure customers and staff remain safe will take a more proactive role, and will refuse entry to people not wearing masks and who are not exempt. They will also be able to ask people to leave services for failure to comply with the requirement. TfL employs approximately 400 enforcement staff, whose role includes the enforcement of the mask wearing requirement. If this is not the information you are looking for please feel free 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
