20 things we learnt from TfL FoI requests in May 2024
1) The three Elizabeth line ticket offices which sold the fewest tickets in 2023 were Acton Main Line (2736), Hanwell (3375) and Maryland (4037). That's about 10 tickets per day. 2) The installation of new brighter lighting inside Bakerloo line carriages started in 2021 and was completed in April 2024. The average rated level of luminance registered is 471 Lux. 3) A very special orange-covered tube map was produced for the launch of the six Overground line names in February. TfL won't print you a copy but you can download a pdf. 4) There are 291 Dial-a-Ride drivers (and no plans to recruit more). 5) During the 2023/24 financial year TfL spent £2,970,568 on gas and £339,065,996 on electricity. 6) The smell on the Elizabeth line platforms at Liverpool Street is not thought to be mould and is believed to be a pump issue, 7) The combined cost of mid-life overhaul of the four escalators at Cutty Sark DLR station is £845,695.05. 8) The noisiest section of the Jubilee line, as recorded inside the carriage, is westbound from Bond Street to Baker Street at 91 decibels. 9) From 1 November 2020 to 28 November 2023 a total of 17,669,059,123 numberplate records from Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras were submitted to the Metropolitan Police Service Back Office Facility (i.e. approx 6 billion checks a year). 10) The Hopper fare on buses and trams saves passengers an estimated total of £50m a year. 11) Some Piccadilly line platforms will require minor changes to platform end barriers, existing station equipment and signage to facilitate new longer trains (which should enter testing "later this summer"). 12) The withdrawal of bus route 549 will not save money because it's part of a wider network change scheme that increases mileage. 13) Canning Town bus station has been a scaffolded mess for years, but renewal works should finally begin in January 2025 (subject to affordability). 14) Catford & St Mary Cray are not shown as step-free on the latest printed tube map - this is an error and TfL will work to rectify this. 15) There are currently no plans to include the London Overground to Battersea Park on the tube map as it is a very limited service and run for contractual reasons rather than a passenger service. 16) Income from lost property sales in 2022/23 was £193,231.39. The two sales which made the most money were an Apple MacBook Pro 14" laptop (£1,043.25) and a green leather Christian Dior shoulder bag (£570.98). 17) The cinema screen at the east end of Canary Wharf station was last used in 2014. An assessment is being done by the Art on the Underground team regarding any future use of the screen and projection equipment. 18) The only level crossing on the Underground network is inside Neasden depot. 19) In the last 10 years, only two people have died after falling between a tube train and the platform. 20) Superloop route numbering "is based on moving clockwise from a logical point, the top. North Finchley is nearest to “12 o’clock”. The numbers are then sequenced clockwise."
