Request ID: FOI-2345-2223 Date published: 12 January 2023
You asked
Dear TfL,
Could I please have access to the following items;
- Bus window stickers containing rail replacement route diagrams
- Printed rail replacement route diagrams attached to bus stops (examples: https://imgur.com/a/xHvpRjg )
- Printed maps directing pedestrians to the correct bus stop (examples: https://imgur.com/a/1Q3LAIG )
- Any employee handbooks relating towards the correct procedures of when a Tube line/DLR/Overground/Elizabeth line etc is closed or when rail replacement is in effect.
Many thanks
We answered
Our ref: FOI-2345-2223/GH
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 16 December 2022 asking for information relating to rail replacement bus services.
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 some of the information you require. However, to provide the information you have requested would exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ of £450 set by the Freedom of Information (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.
Under section 12 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to comply with requests if we estimate that the cost of determining whether we hold the information, locating and retrieving it and extracting it from other information would exceed the appropriate limit. In this instance, we estimate that the time required to answer your request would exceed 18 hours which, at £25 per hour (the rate stipulated by the Regulations), exceeds the ‘appropriate limit’.
Your current request is extremely broad, as you have not specified any particular location or date you require the rail replacement information for. Therefore, your request covers all rail replacement services over an unspecified time period. Identifying each such event, going back as far as we could, and then trying to locate any window stickers, route diagrams etc would be a huge task, which would easily exceed the cost limit.
To help bring the cost of responding to your requests within the £450 limit, you may wish to consider refining your requests to concentrate on matters which are important to you.
Although your request can take the form of a question, rather than a request for specific documents, TfL does not have to answer your question if it would require the creation of new information or the provision of a judgement, explanation, advice or opinion that was not already recorded at the time of your request. If you have specific questions relating to these topics we may be more easily able to respond to these than to a request for any information held.
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
