Request ID: FOI-1571-2122 Date published: 14 December 2021
You asked
hello,
I am hoping to gather some more detailed data on the e-scooter trial currently underway in London. I assume that specific data on each trip being made is being collected (e.g. distance, origin and destination, average speed etc). I was hoping that TfL would make this data publicly accessible.
Can you please advise?
Clarification:
Ideally I would hope to receive data on the following elements:
· Provider (the e-scooter operator)
· Start Date (including exact time)
· End Date (including exact time)
· Duration
· Distance
· Average Speed
· Origin Latitude (rounded to 3 decimal places)
· Origin Longitude (rounded to 3 decimal places)
· Destination Latitude (rounded to 3 decimal places)
· Destination Longitude (rounded to 3 decimal places)
I understand that this may not be possible, and if this is the case, the elements most important for me are:
Duration
Origin Latitude (rounded to 3 decimal places)
· Origin Longitude (rounded to 3 decimal places)
· Destination Latitude (rounded to 3 decimal places)
· Destination Longitude (rounded to 3 decimal places)
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-1571-2122
Thank you for your email of 17th November 2021 clarifying your earlier request for trip-level data from the current e-scooter trial taking place in London.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.
You wrote:
“Ideally I would hope to receive data on the following elements:
· Provider (the e-scooter operator) · Start Date (including exact time) · End Date (including exact time) · Duration · Distance · Average Speed · Origin Latitude (rounded to 3 decimal places) · Origin Longitude (rounded to 3 decimal places) · Destination Latitude (rounded to 3 decimal places) · Destination Longitude (rounded to 3 decimal places)
I understand that this may not be possible, and if this is the case, the elements most important for me are:
- Duration - Origin Latitude (rounded to 3 decimal places) · Origin Longitude (rounded to 3 decimal places) · Destination Latitude (rounded to 3 decimal places) · Destination Longitude (rounded to 3 decimal places)”.
I can confirm that we hold the information you require, which is provided in the attached spreadsheet. Note that two exemptions apply to the requested information, as explained below.
Section 40 of the FOI Act applies to data that would allow an individual to be identified and where it is deemed that such identification is unfair. This exemption has been applied to the request for the time and date of journeys. We believe that the provision of this data - coupled with the other data that is being provided and other data likely to be in the public domain - would allow some hirers of the scooters to be identified through patterns in the data, placing those people at a specific location at a specific time. We do not believe that this would be fair on the individuals concerned.
Section 43 of the FOI Act applies to information where release would be likely to be commercially prejudicial, to TfL or anyone else. This exemption has been applied to the request for the data to show specific providers. This decision has been taken having sought the views of the three providers involved in the trial. As the e-scooter rental market continues to be shaped the operators are engaged in live fundraising discussions with investors, upon which the future of those companies may depend. The exposure of individual trip level data by provider - without due consideration and understanding of the related complexities and context as to why such differences may exist - could have material consequences for those discussions with investors, to the detriment of the providers as well as to TfL in any future negotiations.
The use of the section 43 exemption is subject to consideration of the ‘Public Interest Test’, to determine whether the overall balance of the public interest rests in applying the exemption and withholding the information or in releasing it in any case. We appreciate the need for the openness and transparency in the operation of our services, and the fact that you have requested the information is in itself an argument for release. However, in this case we believe that the balance of public interest favours the application of the exemption. As the market continues to emerge it is in the public interest that best value for money is obtained from the operators and this in part depends on the competitiveness of the market. We do not see an overriding public interest in the data being released - which would be of most value to rival operators - and therefore believe that the balance of public interest rests in withholding the data.
Given the above, the data in the spreadsheet therefore provides:
Duration
Distance
Average speed
Origin latitude and longitude
Destination latitude and longitude
Note that the data that is provided by each operator via APIs, accessible to TfL through a third party platform. Note also that:
The start and end coordinates are rounded to 3 decimal places. This is the format of the data accessible to TfL, and we do not hold the coordinates to any higher level of detail, and;
The coordinates provided are based on the GPS position of the vehicles at the start and the end of a trip. There is a possibility that in some instances GPS drift influences the accuracy of these coordinates.
More general information and data about the trial can be found on our website here:
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,
David Wells FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
