20 things we learnt from TfL FoI requests in June 2024
1) Whatever 16 members of the public have said, no occurrences of bedbugs have been identified on TfL services over the past two years. 2) London's least busy bus stop is at Dysart Avenue (I blogged about this in some detail). The busiest river pier is at Greenwich. 3) A Harry Kane statue will not be installed on the platform at Chingford station, not least because it might cause a distraction to drivers. 4) Service Status announcements should be made every 4-6 minutes at major tube stations, every 6-10 minutes at sub-surface stations and every 10 minutes at quiet stations beyond zone 2 (and only between 7am and 11pm) 5) In the financial year 2023/24 13,171 cases of fare evasion were convicted in court (down from 29,118 in 2018/19). The total amount of fines issued was £ 3,114,865. 6) 4493 ULEZ-related Penalty Charges Notices were issued to vehicles in Hillingdon in April. This is a 30% decrease on the number of fines issued last September. 7) There are three locations where TfL has formal agreements for bus drivers to use the toilets in licenced premises. These are the Brewers Fayre in Bexleyheath (B13 & B14), Raging Bull Snooker Club in Greenford (E1, E2, E3 & E11) and The Finery PH in Great Castle Street (7, 159, N7 & N137). 8) Last year TfL paid private medical insurance for 5709 staff at a total cost of £1,628,452. £4,114,116 was paid out in claims. 9) TfL’s policy is that first and last buses must run. 10) The five overseas countries whose residents buy the most Visitor Oyster cards are the USA, Germany, Australia, Canada and France. TfL sold 7 cards to Liechtenstein last year. 11) The busiest day at Canary Wharf DLR station so far this century was 28th April 2019 (it was London Marathon day). 12) The section of the DLR with the lowest speed limit is Stratford to Stratford High Street southbound. The speed limit is 55 (units unspecified). 13) Since the start of 2023 there have been nine ocurrences of "wrong side door openings" on the Underground (mostly on the Bakerloo & Piccadilly lines). No passengers were injured. 14) The most popular journey between two tube stations is Liverpool Street to Tottenham Court Road (I blogged about this in some detail) 15) Digital screens on bus shelters can display up to five different adverts. There are 610 such sites (also 759 scrolling posters and 8649 static posters). 16) There are three gender neutral toilets at Underground stations, specifically Hillingdon (e/b platform), Roding Valley (e/b platform) and Ruislip Gardens (ticket hall). 17) The average speed of escalators in Tube stations is either 0.75 m/s (metres per second) or 0.65 m/s. These speeds are in keeping with the European Standard for Escalators EN115. 18) The DLR station where people buy the fewest tickets is Beckton Park. The DLR ticket machine that sells the fewest tickets is at Poplar. 19) Last year 4806 incidents of abuse against staff were recorded on the Underground, the majority classified 'Verbal & Gesture'. This is 12% down on 2022. 20) One London bus, one London Overground train, one engineering locomotive train engine, part of an Elizabeth line train and 10 cable car gondolas are Pride-wrapped.
