Request ID: FOI-2409-2324 Date published: 27 October 2023
You asked
Good afternoon.
Can I please have the CPA for 2022 and 2023 for all London Bus routes(if prices vary) or just the one figure if it applies to all routes.
We answered
TfL Ref: 2409-2324
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 2 October 2023 asking for information about the contract price adjustment of London bus routes.
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 the information you require. You asked for:
the CPA for 2022 and 2023 for all London Bus routes(if prices vary) or just the one figure if it applies to all routes.
We can advise that there are more than six hundred bus contracts to consider and each of them receive an inflationary adjustment every year on the anniversary of the date the bus operating company submitted their tender bid. The calculations are performed on a monthly basis. In addition, there are currently three different inflationary formulas in operation and therefore we are not applying the same percentage increase each month.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to source the requested information within the costs limit for responding to FOI cases, as set out under section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act. This is because the information you are seeking is not held in a single repository from which we could easily retrieve these details and compile accordingly to fulfil your request, it would therefore require considerable resource and time to coordinate in a format suitable for public disclosure.
Under section 12, TfL is not required to provide information if it would cost more than £450 to determine if it is held, and to then locate, retrieve or extract that information from elsewhere. This is calculated at a rate of £25 per hour, equivalent to 18 hours work to provide the information you have requested, which would exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ of £450 set by the Freedom of Information (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.
To help bring the cost of responding to your request within the £450 limit, you may wish to consider narrowing its scope so that we can more easily locate, retrieve and extract the information you are seeking, for example, by limiting your request to the percentage increases for each month. If you want to refine your request or make a Freedom of Information Act request in future, please bear in mind that the Freedom of Information Act allows you to request recorded information held by us. Although your request can take the form of a question, rather than a request for specific documents, we do 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.
Please note that we will not be taking further action until we receive your revised request.
In the meantime, if you have any queries or would like to discuss your request, 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 FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
