I am currently undergoing a project looking at the sustainability of the transport in several capital cities. From this, I am investigating the different modes of transport in London and using several factors to determine the sustainability, including the speed limits, road accessibility, number of vehicles per day, etc. In order to do this to the best of my ability, it would be extremely helpful to have a full road network shapefile, and if possible the cycle routes shapefile also.

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TfL Ref: 1887-1718

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 13 October 2017 asking for information about a full road network and the cycle routes shapefiles.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and our information access policy. I can confirm we do hold some of the information you require.

The data requested is restricted by Ordnance Survey copyright as the road network shapefile TfL use is derived data from the integrated transport layer (ITN).

In accordance with the FOI Act, we are not obliged to supply some of the information as it is subject to a statutory exemption to the right of access to information under section 43(2). In this instance the section 43(2) exemption has been applied to the road network shapefile used by TfL as it would be likely to prejudice our commercial interests and those of Ordnance Survey who may depend on income from licence fees in order to operate efficiently. It is possible that TfL could face a action by the licence holder for breach of copyright is this was to be disclosed.

The use of this exemption is subject to an assessment of the public interest in relation to the disclosure of the information concerned. We recognize the need for openness and transparency by public authorities, particularly where the expenditure of public money is concerned, but in this instance the public interest in ensuring that we maintain our commercial reputation to enable us to negotiate successfully and obtain the best value for public money outweighs the general public interest in increasing transparency of our processes. You may however wish to consider using the OS Open roads data for your research: https://data.gov.uk/dataset/os-open-roads

We do not hold information on road accessibility, however, there are a variety of data sources that could be used for an assessment of sustainability on the London data store: https://data.london.gov.uk/

The number of vehicles can be obtained from the Department for Transport traffic counts. https://www.dft.gov.uk/traffic-counts/

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.

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

Sara Thomas

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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