Request ID: FOI-2979-2223 Date published: 03 March 2023
You asked
We wish to make a request pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in the following terms.
We are interested in understanding the incidences involving Wrightbus New Model Routemaster Buses
(popularly known as the ‘Boris master” and “Boris Bus’) from their introduction into service within both Greater
and Central London in February 2012 to the present day.
Specifically, we request that you provide such any and all such information as you have within your possession
custody or power howsoever relating to the following:
• Any record of complaint, comment, report or investigation regarding or howsoever appertaining to
the operation of the New Model Routemaster Bus braking system/operations?
• Any investigation or report in respect to or in any way appertaining to the design or function of the
braking system and operation and brake pedal position on this model of bus, providing full
particulars.
• Any communications between yourselves and the manufacturer/supplier(s) of this model of bus in
respect to the foregoing matters.
• All reported/ recorded incidents which have occurred in which driver pedal confusion (for example
unintentional depression of accelerator pedal instead of or at the same time as foot brake pedal
operation) has in any way been referenced or complained of as in any way playing a part in any such
incident?
• Whether there are a higher number of incidences involving the foregoing incidences unintentional
“pedal confusion”/brake operation involving New Model Routemaster buses in comparison to other types/manufacture of vehicle.
We answered
TfL Ref: 2979-2223
Your Ref: CC-C.FID10394493
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 9 February 2023 asking for information about the New Routemaster buses.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and our information access policy. You asked for:
• Any record of complaint, comment, report or investigation regarding or howsoever appertaining to the operation of the New Model Routemaster Bus braking system/operations?
• Any investigation or report in respect to or in any way appertaining to the design or function of the braking system and operation and brake pedal position on this model of bus, providing full particulars.
• Any communications between yourselves and the manufacturer/supplier(s) of this model of bus in respect to the foregoing matters.
• All reported/ recorded incidents which have occurred in which driver pedal confusion (for example unintentional depression of accelerator pedal instead of or at the same time as foot brake pedal operation) has in any way been referenced or complained of as in any way playing a part in any such incident?
• Whether there are a higher number of incidences involving the foregoing incidences unintentional “pedal confusion”/brake operation involving New Model Routemaster buses in comparison to other types/manufacture of vehicle.
Unfortunately, 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 a request 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. This is calculated at £25 per hour for every hour spent on the activities described.
The information you have requested covers ten years and would require the manual review of a significant volume of information to locate any and all of the information caught by your request, followed by the process of extracting and collating it. Due to the wide scope of the request we consider that the cost limit would be considerably exceeded in processing this request in full.
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. 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. You should identify the information that you want as clearly and concisely as you can, specifying the types of document that you are looking for, prioritising those that are of most importance.
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.
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
