TfL Ref: 1975-1920

Thank you for your request received by us on 1 October 2019 asking for information about the number of journeys that involve entering and exiting the same station within 15 minutes.

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

1. How many journeys were made on the underground which lasted 15 minutes or less (if your measurements involve a different, short interval please replace 15 minutes) and involved the customer touching in and out of the same station?

2. I understand this may be harder to answer, but what is the net total cost for the journeys mentioned in question 1 as charged to the customer?

3. How many refunds did TfL issue for the reason that the individual touched in and out of the same station?

I would ideally like this data for the last 5 years - i.e. from late 2014 to today.

Please see the following table displaying the fares value and number of Oyster Pay as you go (PAYG) journeys involved in what we refer to as ‘Here-to-Here’  (H2H) and ‘Same Station Exit’ (SSE) journeys over the last four years - the timescale of data we have available - at stations where TfL fares are charged (the majority of London Underground and Docklands Light Railway networks).

Please note that on Oyster if the customer:

• Exits the same station within two minutes of entry (SSE) the full entry charge is charged accordingly.
• Exits the same station after two minutes but within 30 minutes (H2H) the minimum fare from that station is charged.
• Exits the same station after 30 minutes then the transactions are split into two incomplete journeys.

Charges   
Journey Type Value Journeys Average Fare per Journey
Here-to-here £2,782,557 2,804,882 £0.99
SSE £9,655,119 3,251,990 £2.97

Over the same four years the second table provides the refunds that were made for the Same Station Entry Journeys:

Refunds    
Journey Type Description Value Journeys Average Fare per Journey
SSE Different Station Re-entry -£891,239 -254,778 £3.50
SSE Same Station Re-entry -£4,480,658 -1,672,707 £2.68

To complete this analysis, the final table below lists the Oyster PAYG refunds given for other reasons (where TfL fares are charged):

Refunds    
Journey Type DESCRIPTION Value Journeys Average Adjustment per Journey
ADJ (Adjustment) An arbitrary adjustment -£86,981 27,029 -£3.22
ADJ Entry charge restored and correct fare deducted -£2,115,806 574,696 -£3.68
ADJ Entry charge restored by goodwill amount -£4,031,947 886,204 -£4.55
ADJ Restore PrePay value and Deduct Minimum Fare -£19,986 3756 -£5.32
ADJ The Entry charge is fully restored to PrePay value -£266,381 47,371 -£5.62

If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any 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

Jasmine Howard
FOI Case Officer
Information Governance
Transport For London