Freedom of Information request - Documents to justify new Santander Cycle tariff being easier to understand
Request ID: FOI-1246-2223 Date published: 15 September 2022
You asked
Dear Transport for London,
Your press release dated 12 August 2022 with title "Santander Cycles to launch e-bikes in London from September" says "TfL will also be making changes to the Santander Cycles fare tariff from 12 September, to support the introduction of e-bikes and to secure continued investment in cycle hire. The changes will make charges for access more flexible and easier to understand for everyone."
Please provide copies of any internal documents, surveys, studies, or discussions you may have which enabled you to reach the conclusion that the new fare structure is easier to understand for everyone than the old fare structure.
We answered
Our ref: FOI-1246-2223/GH
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 18 August 2022 asking for information about Santander Cycles fare tariffs.
Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and our information access policy. I can confirm that we do hold the information you require.
Before any decision was made to change the Santander Cycles tariff TfL undertook a large amount of customer research and sought opinions from key stakeholders. Customer research showed that despite the current tariff being in place since 2013 there was still a large amount of confusion amongst customers regarding how charges were applied after the initial 30 minute access period. TfL surveyed customers at docking stations after their journey had finished and found that 35% of customers were unsure how much time was included in their tariff. Tariff information is currently displayed on the on-street terminal, on the terminal screens when the customer is hiring, on the app and on the website.
As well as confusion customers are also suffering from frustration when being charged for extra ride charges that they weren’t anticipating. 21% of all extra ride charges and penalties were refunded to customers last year due to mitigations being provided as to why they weren’t justified. TfL want all customers to have the best experience possible when using the Santander Cycles scheme and understand the frustration a customer experiences when calling the contact centre to discuss charges which they weren’t expecting. TfL feel that the new Single Ride tariff will be more simple for customers to understand and will lead to fewer complaints and frustrations.
The new monthly tariff also provides a simple option which was not previously available to customers. Currently customers contemplating using the scheme need to choose between buying an access period for 24 hours or 1 year. Research found that only 52% of current annual members use the scheme every month of the year. 27% of annual members would be financially better off switching to a monthly tariff for the months they use the scheme.
On the whole the changes are intended to give customers more choice and flexibility when hiring as well as making charges clearer.
If this is not the information you are looking for, please do not hesitate to contact me.
If you are not satisfied with this response please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely
Graham Hurt FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
