I am writing this urgent Freedom of Information request on behalf of the London Bus Drivers Rank-and-File Safety Committee. We are seeking detailed information about the extent of COVID-19 infections, hospitalisations and deaths from COVID-19 among London bus, light rail, London Underground and taxi and private car-hire workers. We are aware that Transport for London and Labour Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has responded to previous Freedom of Information Requests by claiming that TfL “does not hold data” on this from bus operators. This is totally unacceptable. TfL has a statutory and contractual duty to ensure that private bus operators are running a safe service. TfL has the power to 1) inspect the premises of bus operators to ensure the safety of transport workers and passengers and 2) request any and all documentation relevant to operators’ contractual obligations. In light of TfL’s legal duty to transport workers and passengers please confirm: the total number of COVID-19 infections among transport workers by garage/depot location and date for September, October and November, providing a breakdown by bus, rail and London Underground. Please confirm the total number of COVID-19 hospitalisations among London transport workers, broken down (as above) for bus, rail and London Underground, according to garage/depot location and date of hospitalisation during September, October and November. Please confirm the total number of COVID-19 deaths among London transport workers, broken down (as above) for bus, rail and London Underground, according to garage/depot location and date of hospitalisation during September, October and November. Please confirm the total number of COVID-19 infections, hospitalisations and deaths among London taxi and private car-hire workers, broken down by operators (eg: Uber, London Cab Company) during September, October and November. Please ensure that you provide this information in a timely manner as this information is needed now to protect the lives of transport workers, passengers and the general public.

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TfL Ref: FOI-1647-2021

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 18^th November 2020 asking for information about Covid-19 infections among TfL staff.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.

Before addressing your specific questions it might be helpful to set some context about the measures TfL has taken during the pandemic. Safety is always our top priority and we have been doing all we can to protect transport workers. Our enhanced cleaning regime has made the network cleaner than ever. It uses hospital-grade cleaning substances that kill viruses and bacteria on contact and provides ongoing disinfection, and we’ve installed more than 1,100 hand sanitiser points for everyone to use.

On buses, safety measures have included improved ventilation systems, sealing up the driver’s cab and a relentless focus on cleaning. We ensure extensive daily cleaning takes place across the network that includes the cleaning of ‘touch points’ on board vehicles (steering wheel, poles, doors, handles etc.). Buses are treated with long lasting antiviral cleaner every night after the regular cleaning is completed. Bus garages and rest rooms are similarly treated daily. Social distancing is in place in depots, with the number of tables and chairs in canteens and other rest areas reduced to enable social distancing. At bus garages, stands and stations, additional buses have been parked and designated as staff rest areas. There are also capacity limits on buses that are helping to minimise risk of infection to drivers and customers. We have also asked customers to not sit in seats nearest to bus drivers with signage.

We have regularly tested for coronavirus on our network with no evidence of it having been found to date. In September, we introduced a new testing regime in association with Imperial College London, which involves independent monthly air and surface sampling on both the Tube and buses. The testing undertaken in each of the last three months (i.e. September, October and November) has found no trace of coronavirus.

It is essential that those using the transport network at this time to travel to school, work and other essential services, wear a face covering to help control the spread of the virus. All TfL and front-line bus operator staff have been offered face masks to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. The vast majority of customers are protecting others by wearing a face covering properly unless they are exempt, and most people are very responsive when they are spoken to and will put one on or adjust it. But sadly there is a selfish minority who are showing a complete disregard for everyone around them and who think it is acceptable to ignore the law. It is those individuals our enforcement officers and the police are targeting through our enforcement operations, which are taking place on buses, trains and stations across London at all times of day.

Turning to your request, I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require. However, it is not possible to answer your questions as asked within the costs limit for responding to FOI cases as set out in section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act. Under section 12, a public authority such as TfL is not required to respond to a request if it would cost more than £450 to determine if that information is held, and to then locate, retrieve or extract that information from elsewhere (calculated at a rate of £25 per hour). This is largely on account of your request for the data to be broken down by specific location (garages and depots). The central reporting tools at our disposal do not allow us to do this comprehensively, and therefore in order to supply this information we would be required to identify individual staff within the datasets and to then check exactly where that person is based using different records. Given this would involve the cross-checking of hundreds of records, it is not possible to provide this within the costs limit. That said, we are able to provide some higher-level data, as reported below.

Before reading that higher level data, it might be helpful to note the following. TfL employs around 28,000 staff covering both operational and non-operational roles. Not all services operating under the TfL banner are provided by TfL. Rather, a number are provided by private operators under contract with TfL, and these private providers employ their own staff. This includes buses, trams, London Overground, TfL Rail and the Docklands Light Railway. Further, while TfL licences the taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) industry in London it does not itself employ taxi or PHV drivers. Under the Freedom of Information Act public authorities are only obliged to respond based on the information they hold. They are not required to source information from elsewhere nor create new information. While some information in relation to your questions has been reported to us from private operators, it is not necessarily consistent nor provided to us in all cases. The answers below are therefore a representation of what is held at the time of your request.

Question 1: In light of TfL’s legal duty to transport workers and passengers please confirm: the total number of COVID-19 infections among transport workers by garage/depot location and date for September, October and November, providing a breakdown by bus, rail and London Underground.

The data in relation to buses has been collected since 5^th October 2020 (after mass testing was introduced - initially operators reported that numbers were low, but when the second wave began and cases increased we started collecting network-wide data). In October there were 98 cases reported among bus workers. In November there were 170.

The following table provides the data in relation to rail services.

Mode	September	October	November
London Overground	5	5	15
London Trams	0	2	3
DLR	3	5	10
TfL Rail	3	4	9

In relation to the London Underground, there were 33 positive tests in September; 122 in October; and 121 in November. This covers all LU staff, whether in frontline operational roles or office based.

Question 2: Please confirm the total number of COVID-19 hospitalisations among London transport workers, broken down (as above) for bus, rail and London Underground, according to garage/depot location and date of hospitalisation during September, October and November.

TfL does not hold any data on hospitalisations due to Covid-19.

Question 3: Please confirm the total number of COVID-19 deaths among London transport workers, broken down (as above) for bus, rail and London Underground, according to garage/depot location and date of hospitalisation during September, October and November.

The total number of deaths in these months that have been attributed to Covid-19 is as follows:

September: 0.

October: 2 (1 in buses and 1 in London Underground).

November: 1 (in buses).

Question 4: Please confirm the total number of COVID-19 infections, hospitalisations and deaths among London taxi and private car-hire workers, broken down by operators (eg: Uber, London Cab Company) during September, October and November.

While TfL does hold some information in relation to the health of taxi and private hire vehicle drivers, any such information will be recorded within driver files which would need to be individually checked to see what exactly is held. This would exceed the section 12 costs limit cited above as there are approximately 130,000 such records.

If you are considering submitting a further FOI request please think carefully about whether the request is essential at this current time, as answering FOI requests will require the use of limited resources and the attention of staff who could be supporting other essential activity. Where requests are made, please note that our response time may be impacted by the current situation.

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

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