Request ID: FOI-4103-2324 Date published: 26 February 2024
You asked
Dear Transport for London,
I am writing to make a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I seek the disclosure of emails sent to or received from any email address ending in "@uber.com" within the period: 1st JANUARY 2023 - 09th FEBRUARY 2024.
If possible, I would like to receive the metadata associated with these emails, including the date, time, sender, and recipient information. Additionally, could you please provide a log of the search terms and databases used to compile the information relevant to this request?
I understand there are limitations and exemptions under the FOI Act and the Data Protection Act 2018 that might affect the disclosure of some information. I would appreciate it if you could provide advice or assistance if my request can be refined to avoid such exemptions.
Thank you for your time and assistance with this matter.
Sincerely,
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-4103-2324
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on10 February 2024 asking for information about Uber email correspondence.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and our information access policy.
I can confirm that we hold the information you require. However, we are refusing your request under section 14(1) of the FOI Act which provides an exemption to the disclosure of information where answering requests imposes a disproportionate burden on our resources.
Our principal duty is to provide an effective transport service for London and we consider that answering this request would represent a disproportionate effort. It would be a significant distraction from our work managing the TfL network, requiring re-allocation of already limited resources and placing an unacceptable burden on a small number of personnel. We do wish to clarify that whilst we consider that your request falls under section 14(1) of the FOI Act, this does not reflect a conclusion that it has been your intention to deliberately place an undue burden on our resources.
This guidance includes the following advice to public authorities:
“Section 14(1) is designed to protect public authorities by allowing them to refuse any request which have the potential to cause a disproportionate or unjustified level of disruption, irritation or distress”.
“The information Commissioner recognises that dealing with unreasonable requests can place a strain on resources and get in the way of delivering mainstream services or answering legitimate requests.”
“Disproportionate effort: the matter being pursued by the requester is relatively trivial and the authority would have to extend a disproportionate amount of resources in order to meet the request.” We consider the burden of retrieving, reviewing and redacting the information you have requested would be disproportionate to the benefit of providing it. Therefore, due to the wide ranging and unfocused scope of your request, we are refusing this under section 14 of the FOI Act. If you would like to re-submit a more focused, specific request then we will, of course, consider it.
Please see attached for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely,
Mary Abidakun FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
