Request ID: FOI-1611-2122 Date published: 19 November 2021
You asked
Where are the 1400 (??) cameras located?
Who is/are the hardware/software supplier(s) and how will those entities be maintained?
Is the monitoring done in-house by TFL staff or is it outsourced?
Is the back-end Data processing TFL local or “in the cloud”?
What statistics will be kept/reported on instances of alleged privacy violation?
What statistics will be kept/reported on instances of data sharing with the Metropolitan Police Service?
Is it the intent to deploy Artificial Intelligence systems further to interpret or predict traffic/driver flows/patterns/behaviours?
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-1611-2122
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 25 October 2021.
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:
Where are the 1400 (??) cameras located?
We have previously replied to a similar request for this information which is published on our website at the following link.
Who is/are the hardware/software supplier(s) and how will those entities be maintained? Is the monitoring done in-house by TFL staff or is it outsourced? Is the back-end Data processing TFL local or “in the cloud”?
The installation and maintenance of our cameras and the associated hardware and software is provided by Siemens Traffic Solutions under their current contract with TfL. Back-end processing is undertaken by Capita Business Services Ltd under contract with TfL. Monitoring data is provided to us from Siemens, and analysis of this data is carried out in-house by TfL. The Siemens element is held in their secure data centers. The Capita element is held in their secure cloud solution.
What statistics will be kept/reported on instances of alleged privacy violation?
We report twice a year to the Audit and Assurance Committee on data breaches reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and complaints to the ICO about TfL’s compliance with data protection legislation.
What statistics will be kept/reported on instances of data sharing with the Metropolitan Police Service?
We do not record this information. Under the terms of our agreement with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), data is shared with them via an entirely separate feed from the source data. I would recommend you contact the MPS for this information.
For more information about the agreement, you may find it useful to refer to the Road User Charging privacy page on our website.
Is it the intent to deploy Artificial Intelligence systems further to interpret or predict traffic/driver flows/patterns/behaviors?
Our schemes are not designed to interpret or predict traffic flow or behaviour. Therefore for the purposes of enforcing our schemes, we currently only use Artificial Intelligent (AI) to identify VRMs, for example to distinguish them from livery. We also operate a number of monitoring cameras, from which encrypted data is used to analyse traffic flow, and which helps us to manage our road network. Any plans to use our camera systems for additional purposes would be subject to any relevant safety and cost considerations. Any significant changes would require an updated Data Protection Impact Assessment.
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
Eva Hextall FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
