TfL recently launch a new app, "TfL Go". I would like to know the following: 1. How long (in months) did it take TfL to spec, design, create and finally launch the app? This includes any spec, design and development of an app which may have been TfL Go but under a different name. 2. What has been the whole life cost of getting the app to launch? This must account for salaried staff time, consultants and any other resource cost. It must include and specs, design time which did not make it into the final product, but was part of the dev process. 3. What is the rationale for launching on iOS first? With a greater proportion of Londoner's using Android OS, especially amongst BAME and the poor, this decision doesn't seem to be one which has put customers first. I believe TfL should have all this information to hand.

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TfL Ref: FOI-1120-2021

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 20 September 2020.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.  I can confirm that we hold the information you require.

How long (in months) did it take to spec, design, create and finally launch the app? This includes any spec, design and development of an app which may have been TfL Go but under a different name.

The TfL Go app was built in-house by our Technology & Data team. This team develops websites, apps and open data services and much of that work is interdependent. The case for developing an app was put forward in March 2018. Development activity took place over a period of 29 months leading up to the iOS app launch at the beginning of August 2020. However, the pace of development has fluctuated over that period.

What has been the whole life cost of getting the app to launch? This must account for salaried staff time, consultants and any other resource cost. It must include any specs, design time which did not make it into the final product, but was part of the dev process.

The specific costs associated with developing the iOS app were estimated at £520k at the time of launch. As new features and functionality are added to the iOS app, we expect this to rise to £784k by the time the Android app launches later in 2020. The development costs for the Android app are estimated at an additional £1.078m by the time of launch. Please note the amount of staff time spent on the app’s development has not been recorded across all departments involved and these costs therefore do not fully account for the cost of staff time.

What is the rationale for launching on iOS first. With a greater proportion of Londoners using Android OS, especially amongst BAME and the poor, this decision doesn’t seem to be one which has put customers first.

Our analytics indicate that the majority of users of the TfL website access it via an iOS device (57% in September 2020 versus 43% on Android). This is also true for the TfL Oyster & Contactless app (53% in September 2020 versus 47% on Android). TfL is committed to launching on both platforms and will launch the Android version of TfL Go later in 2020.

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Yours sincerely

Eva Hextall

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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