FOI request detail

Various

Request ID: FOI-1669-1920
Date published: 28 October 2019

You asked

I am not sure if this should be a separate request but i would like to make a couple of requests please. 1) I am aware West Drayton Station in West London was recently refurbished however not much work seems to have been done except new flooring, painting and general refurbishment. I would like to know a) What work was scheduled to complete b) How much did this cost c) Why was the ticket hall refurbished when a new one is in development? d) Why was ticket barriers not included in the development? 2) What software do you use for the following and who provides each software? a) Train and bus timetable b) Electronic timetable display c) on the contactless machines that reads each card and calculates everyone Journey? 3) How much does the contactless tap machines cost to purchase, set up, and are there any ongoing costs to TFL?? Finally Question 4. How many people Pay using Credit card Debit Card Oyster card Other payment card By phone tap Other smart card Sorry for all of the questions in one email? Thanks for your help

We answered

TfL Ref: FOI-1669-1920

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 3rd September 2019 asking for information about West Drayton station, the software used for electronic timetables, contactless machines, and the different methods of payment on TfL services.

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

Your questions are answered in turn below:

1) I am aware West Drayton Station in West London was recently refurbished however not much work seems to have been done except new flooring, painting and general refurbishment. I would like to know:

a) What work was scheduled to complete?

Answer:

Refurbishment of the existing Victorian ticket hall building including;

- Provision of a new accessible ticket window;

- Refurbishment of staff facilities and back of house areas including providing a dedicated staff toilet;

- Provision of improved customer information screens and an updated live bus departures screen;

- Cleaning and restoration of brickwork to the building façade;

- Removal of 1970s/80s suspended ceiling that restricted natural light in the ticket hall.

b) How much did this cost?

Answer: The works cost approximately £600k.

c) Why was the ticket hall refurbished when a new one is in development?

Answer: The new ticket hall due to be constructed by Crossrail / Network Rail as part of the Crossrail project’s On-Network works will sit alongside the existing ticket hall to provide additional customer circulation space and link the existing building to the new step-free access footbridge.

d) Why was ticket barriers not included in the development?

The new building provided by Crossrail / Network Rail will be the future means of accessing the platforms and will contain automatic ticket barriers.

2) What software do you use for the following and who provides each software?

a) Train and bus timetable:

Answer: TfL does not produce bus timetables. These are produced by the individual bus companies contracted to TFL and we do not hold details of the software the companies use. London Underground uses an application called RTS (Railway Timetable System) supported by BAE systems.

b) Electronic timetable display:

Answer: The software is a generated by the Railway Signalling Control System (RSCS) on each Underground Line. This software monitors and controls the trains. It uses its knowledge of the train location relative to the station platform, together with timetable data, to provide ‘time to arrive/depart’ information which is displayed on the signs.

Each Underground Line has a dedicated RSCS, some have been designed and developed ‘in-house’ by TfL Engineering and others procured as part of Signalling Modernisation projects.

The list below details the software supplier:

Bakerloo Line TfL in-house software

Central Line Siemens Rail Automation

Circle Line TfL in-house software

District Line TfL in-house software

Hammersmith & City Thales Transportation (Seltrac) / TfL in-house software

Jubilee Line Thales Transportation (Seltrac)

Northern Line Thales Transportation (Seltrac)

Piccadilly Line TfL in-house software

Victoria Line Siemens Rail Automation

Waterloo & City Line TfL in-house software

c) on the contactless machines that reads each card and calculates everyone Journey?

Answer: The software is bespoke software owned by TfL, which was developed by our contractor Cubic.

3) How much does the contactless tap machines cost to purchase, set up, and are there any ongoing costs to TFL?

Answer: The information is exempt from disclosure under section 43(2) of the FOI Act. Under section 43, we are not obliged to release information where it would harm the commercial interests of TfL or any other party, and where it is in the overall public interest for the exemption to apply. In this case, TfL believes that it is in the public interest that the costs should remain between us and the current supplier, as release would undermine our position in any potential future negotiations with other potential suppliers. While we recognise the need for openness and transparency by public bodies, we also recognise that TfL is largely a publicly funded body, and that it would be detrimental to the public purse (both taxpayers and fare-paying passengers) if we were unable to secure the best value for money in any future procurement exercise. As such, we believe that the public is best served by exempting the information.

4) How many people Pay using:

Credit card

Debit Card

Oyster card

Other payment card

By phone tap

Other smart card

Answer: The exact information requested is exempt from disclosure under section 43(2) of the FOI Act. In this case, the exemption is applied in respect of the request for a split of the data by Credit and Debit card users. In the debit card market there are two major companies for which we hold data, and release of that data would allow each to determine the market share held by their competitor. 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, but in this instance the exemption has been applied as it would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of those companies, and enable their competitors to access useful information which could potentially reduce competitiveness in the market. For that reason, we believe it is in the public interest for the exact information to be exempt. That said, we can provide you with the following breakdown:

As of the week commencing 12th October 2019, of all the pay as you go journeys made:

  • 58% were made via Contactless. Of those, 20% were made using a mobile device (we cannot distinguish between particular devices).

     

     

  • 42% were made via Oyster card.

We do not hold data regarding other, non-TfL smartcard products. Note also that various reports detailing Contactless and Oyster card usage can be found on our website via the following links:

https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/contactless-payment

https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/oyster-card

If this is not the information you are looking for 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

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