Freedom of Information request - Information about Customer Service Software
Request ID: FOI-1410-2223 Date published: 03 October 2022
You asked
Dear Transport for London,
I would like to request information regarding the software used by ticket office staff at TfL stations. Please cover the period 1990-2022.
For example, if a customer had an issue with an Oyster card c.2015, they would go to a ticket window, present their Oyster Card and the customer service assistant would then use a computer to triage the issue/sell tickets etc. What software would staff have been using?
I would be particularly interested in the System Functional Design document for the customer service platform and/or software. Areas of interest will include the operating system and point-of-sale hardware in use.
We answered
TfL Ref: 1410-2223
Thank you for your email received by us on 9 September 2022 asking for information about software used by ticket office staff at TfL stations from 1990 to 2022. 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 some of the information you require. You asked for:
the software used by ticket office staff at TfL stations. Please cover the period 1990-2022.
For example, if a customer had an issue with an Oyster card c.2015, they would go to a ticket window, present their Oyster Card and the customer service assistant would then use a computer to triage the issue/sell tickets etc. What software would staff have been using?
I would be particularly interested in the System Functional Design document for the customer service platform and/or software. Areas of interest will include the operating system and point-of-sale hardware in use.
Whilst we only hold data going back to 2003, when the current Oyster software applications in place were deployed, we can advise that the information you are seeking is exempt from disclosure under section 43(2) of the FOI Act. In this instance the section 43(2) exemption has been applied as disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of Transport for London and those participating in our smart ticketing revenue collection bidding process. The unique Proteus procurement bidding process, which this revenue collection tendering process refers to, takes place in tightly controlled conditions, where information is displayed solely on screen with no electronic devices allowed in the room due to the highly sensitive commercial nature of these proceedings.
Disclosure of the information you have requested would damage the commercial interests of both bidders and TfL since it would enable competitors in this market to access content relating to, for example, system functional design, inclusive of the operating system and point-of-sale hardware in use, which could then be used to develop similar specialist technology without incurring many of the set-up and development costs. If public authorities were unable to offer some protection for third party intellectual property, the likely outcome of releasing this information to their competitors could compromise and prejudice the commercial interests of market participants in this field which in turn would have a detrimental effect on future tender opportunities and the overall outcome for the public purse.
The use of this exemption is subject to an assessment of the public interest in relation to the disclosure of the information concerned. We recognise the need for openness and transparency by public authorities, particularly where the expenditure of public money is concerned, but in this instance the public interest is in ensuring TfL can attract bids from the best companies, and that these companies are able and willing to bid for contracts without their intellectual property being shared. This in turn outweighs the general public interest in increasing transparency of our processes.
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
Jasmine Howard FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
