Our Ref:         FOI-3760-1920

Thank you for your request received on 6 March 2020 asking for information about collisions involving private hire bicycles and e-scooters.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm we do hold the information you require.

Each year, more than 4,000 people are killed or seriously injured on London’s streets. Any loss of life or serious injury is a tragedy and by adopting a bold Vision Zero approach, we are putting the elimination of road danger at the heart of what we do. TfL is taking urgent and continued action in a range of areas by transforming London’s streets, recently introducing new 20mph speed limits across TfL roads in central London, introducing the world’s first Direct Vision Standard for lorries and working with the police to target dangerous drivers.

Please see the requested information relating to bikes hired either from Santander Cycles or from other providers, attached for January 2014 to July 2019. Please  note, we are unable to distinguish in this data between the two as they are reported as collisions involving ‘cycle hire’ bicycles, not a specific provider. This information forms part of the road safety data published on our website: https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/road-safety.

Please note that for electric scooters the Department for Transport (DfT) do not as yet provide a category so we have searched on vehicle description in the ‘other category’, as such some of collisions may have involved motorised scooters or mobility scooters. Prior to 2017 it was not possible for police officers to record what type of ‘other vehicle’ was involved. We have reviewed the descriptions of these collisions, e.g. PED WAS HIT BY V1 ( ELECTRIC SCOOTER) WHILST CROSSING ROAD. There are three collisions, all from 2016, that mention electric scooters in their description, all slight injuries involving two electric scooter riders and one pedestrian. We are working with the DfT to provide improved reporting of electric vehicles and e-mobility as part of the DfT STATS19 review.

In accordance with the FOI Act, we are not obliged to supply the information you have requested for August 2019 to January 2020 as it is subject to a statutory exemption to the right of access to information, under Section 22 of the Act.

In this instance the exemption has been applied as the information you have requested is intended for future publication. The information is currently being validated to ensure accuracy. It is anticipated the results will be published on the our website this summer.

This exemption is subject to a public interest test, which requires us to assess whether the public interest in applying the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure. In this instance, it is considered that the public interest favours the publication of this information, in context and according to the pre-determined schedule, rather than in response to your request, to ensure the information is provided accurately and in an accessible manner.

If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for some reason, please feel free to contact me.

Please note, the Government has announced a series of measures to tackle the Coronavirus. It is essential for London, and in particular for all critical workers, that we continue to provide a safe transport network that enables them to make the journeys they need to.

In current circumstances, we are not able to answer FOI requests readily and we ask that you please do not make a request to us at present.

Answering FOI requests will require the use of limited resources and the attention of staff who could be supporting other essential activity. In any event, please note that our response time will be affected by the current situation.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.

Yours sincerely

Gemma Jacob
Senior FOI Case Officer
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London

[email protected]

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