Dear Sirs, Could you please let me know if there is an official guidance for the CCTV camera operators who issue PCNs for stopping in loading bays on the TFL red routes. Can this guidance be provided? If not, I particularly would like to know how the camera operators assess the contravention 46: Stopped where prohibited. Is there a time limit (e.g. 5 minutes) for a vehicle being stationary in the loading bay without doing loading before the contravention 46 occurs? If there is a time limit, is the driver allowed to leave the vehicle during this period without triggering the contravention 46? If the driver is allowed to leave their vehicle during this period, should the driver do a specific activity apart from loading (check the signage, check the paperwork or anything else) in order to not to trigger the contravention 46 during this time limit?

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TfL Ref: FOI-2486-1920

Thank you for your email received by Transport for London (TfL) on 16 November 2019.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. Unfortunately we do not hold the information you require. You asked:

Could you please let me know if there is an official guidance for the CCTV camera operators who issue PCNs for stopping in loading bays on the TFL red routes. Can this guidance be provided? If not, I particularly would like to know how the camera operators assess the contravention 46: Stopped where prohibited. Is there a time limit (e.g. 5 minutes) for a vehicle being stationary in the loading bay without doing loading before the contravention 46 occurs? If there is a time limit, is the driver allowed to leave the vehicle during this period without triggering the contravention 46? If the driver is allowed to leave their vehicle during this period, should the driver do a specific activity apart from loading (check the signage, check the paperwork or anything else) in order to not to trigger the contravention 46 during this time limit?

There is no official guidance for CCTV camera operators and therefore we do not hold this information.

Legislation does not set out a universal definition of loading and unloading because it is recognised that each case should be considered on its own merits.  TfL would expect that motorists only use the loading bays on the red route for their intended purpose and that the use of a vehicle is necessary, rather than convenient.  TfL considers that loading (in a non-commercial context) is the operation of transferring, to a vehicle, goods which require the use of a vehicle to transport them. 

This position has been upheld by a panel of Independent Adjudicators at the London Tribunals in the case of Bosworth and Others v. The London Borough of Tower Hamlets and Others. A copy of the Adjudicators’ decision can be found on the London Tribunals website at https://www.londontribunals.gov.uk/eat/key-cases

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.

Yours sincerely

Eva Hextall

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

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