Freedom of Information request - Your recent decision to stop issuing paper tickets on buses.
Request ID: FOI-1858-2122 Date published: 06 December 2021
You asked
Dear Transport for London,
At some point recently you have stopped issuing paper transfer tickets when a bus terminates early and you have stopped issuing paper negative balance tickets when a passenger goes in to their negative balance on the bus on their oyster card.
Could you please kindly answer these questions that are in regards to this matter:
1. On what date did you stop issuing paper transfer tickets on the bus when a bus has to terminate short of the destination?
2. What was reason that you have stopped issuing paper transfer tickets on the bus when a bus has to terminate short of the destination?
3. What is the policy now if a bus terminates short of the destination and the passenger has used up all the time on their hopper fare? Does the passenger have to pay again? Is there anything else in place to ensure that a passenger will not have to pay again if a bus terminates early?
4. How much money do you expect to save per year as a result of no longer issuing paper transfer tickets on the bus when a bus has to terminate short of the destination?
5. Why was there zero publicity anywhere advising passengers that you were going to stop issuing paper transfer tickets on the bus when a bus has to terminate short of the destination?
6. On what date did you stop issuing paper negative balance tickets on the bus when a passenger goes in to negative balance on their oyster card?
7. What was the reason that you have stopped issuing paper negative balance tickets on the bus when a passenger goes in to negative balance on their oyster card?
8. What happens now if a passenger goes in to their negative balance on the bus on their oyster card? Now that tickets are no longer printed how are they notified? Is there anything else in place to notify passengers that they have used their negative balance?
9. How much money do you expect to save per year as a result of no longer issuing paper negative balance tickets on the bus when a passenger goes in to negative balance on their oyster card?
10. Why was there zero publicity anywhere advising passengers that you were going to stop issuing paper negative balance tickets on the bus when a passenger goes in to negative balance on their oyster card?
Thank you very much.
We answered
Our ref: FOI-1858-2122/GH
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 16 November 2021 asking for information about paper tickets on buses.
Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and our information access policy. I can confirm that we do hold the information you require.
1. On what date did you stop issuing paper transfer tickets on the bus when a bus has to terminate short of the destination? Please see the attached driver notice that was issued about the removal of printing functions. 2. What was reason that you have stopped issuing paper transfer tickets on the bus when a bus has to terminate short of the destination? The main reason is the COVID-19-secure assault screens in the driver’s cab don’t allow printed tickets to be presented to customers anymore. The One Hour Hopper also caters for terminated journeys 3. What is the policy now if a bus terminates short of the destination and the passenger has used up all the time on their hopper fare? Does the passenger have to pay again? Is there anything else in place to ensure that a passenger will not have to pay again if a bus terminates early? The drivers’ cabs are now largely sealed off to make them Covid secure, so no transfer or one-more-journey tickets were being issued in practice. In respect of the former, these are no longer required as the Bus Hopper allows customers using Oyster pay-as-you go (PAYG) and contactless cards to make further journeys within one hour at no extra cost. Other customers may have asked for a transfer ticket out of habit but do not need one. In respect of the latter, nearly all customers did not take their one-more journey ticket and the electronic ticket machine (ETM) continues to make a different noise to indicate the customer is getting their ‘one more journey’. In the unlikely event the one-hour period for the Hopper ticket is exceeded, then the customer can call the TfL Customer Contact Centre for a refund. 4. How much money do you expect to save per year as a result of no longer issuing paper transfer tickets on the bus when a bus has to terminate short of the destination? There is estimated to be a small overall saving to TfL of around £40k per year by removing the printer functionality. But the main reason for instigating this is that COVID-secure assault screens don’t allow the printed tickets to be presented to the customer anymore. 5. Why was there zero publicity anywhere advising passengers that you were going to stop issuing paper transfer tickets on the bus when a bus has to terminate short of the destination? There was no change in practice as the sealing of driver screens was preventing this happening, hence why there wasn’t publicity either 6. On what date did you stop issuing paper negative balance tickets on the bus when a passenger goes in to negative balance on their oyster card? Around the time that cabs became sealed to afford more protection to bus drivers which was around a year ago. 7. What was the reason that you have stopped issuing paper negative balance tickets on the bus when a passenger goes in to negative balance on their oyster card? Please see the answers above. 8. What happens now if a passenger goes in to their negative balance on the bus on their oyster card? Now that tickets are no longer printed how are they notified? Is there anything else in place to notify passengers that they have used their negative balance? Please see the answer to question three. If they register their Oyster Card online, they can use the Oyster app to see their balance. The Electronic Ticket Machine (ETM) still makes the sound for an emergency fare and this is also displayed on the customer screen on the ETM. 9. How much money do you expect to save per year as a result of no longer issuing paper negative balance tickets on the bus when a passenger goes in to negative balance on their oyster card? Please see the answer to question four, which represents the overall estimate saving. 10. Why was there zero publicity anywhere advising passengers that you were going to stop issuing paper negative balance tickets on the bus when a passenger goes in to negative balance on their oyster card? Please see the answer to question five.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for some reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
If you are not satisfied with this response please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely
Graham Hurt FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
