20 things we learnt from TfL FoI requests in February 2025
1) The oldest bus in service in London is the Uno 605, a vehicle introduced in 2007 and currently in use on route 383. However, this vehicle is due to be withdrawn from the fleet shortly. 2) On average TfL's income from ULEZ charges is about £375,000 per day. 3) As of 2024, 52% of all London’s roads have a 20mph speed limit. This can be further broken down as 52% of borough roads and 16% of the TfL Road Network. 4) The TfL Road Network comprises 4% of London's public roads but carries 29% of the traffic. The borough of Wandsworth has the most TfL-controlled roads (36km), Harrow has none. Barnet has the most major roads (109km) and Sutton the least (30km). Bromley has the most roads altogether (913km) but Hillingdon has the most traffic (followed by Havering and Enfield). 5) The noisy manhole cover on the northbound carriageway of Commercial Street at the junction with Fleur de Lis Street has had two utility notices issued, but as yet there is no date for a permanent repair. 6) There are 938 ticket machines at tube stations. These are of four different types. King's Cross St Pancras has the most (45) followed by Victoria (34), Liverpool Street (23), Paddington (22) and London Bridge/Heathrow T23 (18). Roding Valley is the only tube station with one ticket machine (the minimum otherwise is two). 7) Of all the Superloop routes, the SL7 has had the highest spend on vehicle vinyl wraps (£130,795.00) but also the lowest spend on stop/shelter branding (£16,861.43). 8) Customers who need to reset their multi-factor authentication are still unable to access their Contactless and Oyster accounts following the cyberattack in September. 9) A fox was seen on the Central line tracks at Oxford Circus on the evening of 19th January 2025. Traction current was turned off between 19.30 and 19.50 with train services suspended. The fox was unharmed and released in nearby Hanover Square Gardens. 10) Five existing electric vehicles from route 323 have been reassigned to the Silvertown Tunnel cycle shuttle service. Route 323 is currently being operated by Euro VI Diesel vehicles but will be back to using electric vehicles "as soon as is possible". 11) Toilets will be provided for bus drivers at both ends of the 129 and SL4 bus routes through the Silvertown Tunnel (but only at one end of the cycle shuttle because it's a short route). 12) During the last financial year 3,003,614 Oyster users and 13,087,477 Contactless users received an autofill refund payment after being charged for an incomplete journey. 13) Yes, heating is installed on buses on route 463, with the expectation that the saloon temperature be 17 degrees. 14) AI has not been used by TfL or their partners to develop the promotional materials seen around their network 15) If you'd like pdf copies of 38 tube maps issued between 1998 and 2009, this zip file has them all. 16) 295 penalty charges notices were issued on 25 December 2024 for vehicles being in a bus lane. No fines had been issued on any previous Christmas Day, even though the policy changed in 2020. 17) In 2021 TfL ran 14 advertising campaigns for cryptocurrencies, but last year just two. 18) There are now 794 Santander docking stations. The total was 330 when the bikes launched in 2010, 737 in 2015 and 784 in 2020. 19) At the end of 2024 a total of 10,364 customers had an active annual membership of Santander Cycles. That's 0.1% of London's population. 20) During 2024 TfL received 4207 FoI requests.
