Request ID: FOI-3302-2223 Date published: 31 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 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.
We look forward to hearing from you within your 20-working day response turnaround, as indicated on your
webpage.
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-3302-2223
Thank you for your further request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 7th March 2023 asking for information about Wrightbus New Model Routemaster Buses.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.
Specifically you asked:
“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 Greaterand 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 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.”
I can confirm that we hold the information you require. However, I am afraid that given the broad scope and timeframe of your request it remains subject to the section 12 costs exemption, as advised in our previous response. This is largely on account of the request for “any communications” between TfL and the manufacturer. In order to determine what might be held, going back over a decade, we have run an automated search of TfL staff email accounts for any emails with “@wright-bus.com” containing any of the keywords “brake”, “braking” or “brakes”. This has returned 2,458 hits. To determine which of these emails do and do not fall within the scope of your request we would have to individually review each one. In order to achieve that within the £450 costs limit that we would have to locate and review over two emails per minute. This is not achievable and is, in any case, only one aspect of the request. Finding the other information requested would of course add to the costs burden further.
In order to bring your request within the costs limit you may wish to narrow the scope further. For example, you could remove the element asking for “all communications”.
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,
David Wells FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
