London has become a cash cow for motorists due the increased number of cameras especially in areas where the road networks are confusing or to unfamiliar motorists. Therefore it is shocking to see that TFL has spent what could be deemed as a considerable amount of money on personalised number plates for buses and other official vehicles covered by either the mayor of London’s office and or TFL. Therefore I ask that you confirm all the personalised registration numbers that have been purchased, the cost pre and post vat, the costs paid to DVLA for assigning number plates, and the number of plates that are currently held on retention. I believe that all this information will be held on a simple data base. All number plates seen to date are on buses but may also include vehicles assigned to the mayors office. If it is felt that disclose of the full number plate risks undue disclosure part of the index will be sufficient as long as the financial information is supplied.

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TfL Ref: FOI-1950-1920

Thank you for your email received by Transport for London (TfL) on 28 September 2019.

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

Therefore I ask that you confirm all the personalised registration numbers that have been purchased, the cost pre and post vat, the costs paid to DVLA for assigning number plates, and the number of plates that are currently held on retention.

Whilst we are unsure what you mean by ‘other official vehicles’, I can confirm we had the opportunity to use Northern Ireland number plates on New Routemasters at the point at which they were registered and this helped distinguish them from other buses at no cost. These have the prefix LT but they are not personalised plates and not purchased at a premium.. Details that we hold on bus fleet vehicles are published on our website at http://content.tfl.gov.uk/fleet-list-annual-audit-report-31-march-2019.pdf

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

Eva Hextall

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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