Tuesday, April 01, 2025
25 things we learnt from TfL FoI requests in March 2025
1) On average the seat moquette on a New Routemaster bus lasts 7.3 years before replacement. Used moquette is recycled by foreign aid charities.
2) Only 0.003% of Elizabeth Line journeys result in Delay Repay payments even though 1.7% would be eligible.
3) In 2024 the bus routes generating the most advertising revenue through the use of full-coverage vinyl wraps were the 137 (£465,000), the 8 (£427,500) and the 103 (£388,000).
4) For fare payment, Oyster cards were overtaken by contactless cards in February 2018, by smartphones in August 2022 and by smartwatches in December 2024.
5) The thickness of the printed tube map has decreased from 0.17mm in June 2016 to 0.09mm in December 2024.
6) Only three Croydon trams have been officially named - Dame Janet Wiseman, Femi Mahmood and Henry Banks CBE.
7) The oldest passenger lift still in use on the Underground is Lift 3 at Caledonian Road which was installed on 17th October 1936. The newest is the mezzanine lift at Paddington's new Bakerloo line entrance.
8) There are 5017 ULEZ cameras in London, of which 143 have each raised more than £1m in fines.
9) According to traffic counts, the busiest Cycleways over the last twelve months have been C3, C5, C2, C6, CS7, C57, C1, C4, C58 and C90.
10) Since April 2024 there have been 612 incidents involving bus lanes blocked by dockless e-bikes causing a total of 185,263 lost passenger hours.
11) Last year 7% of contactless journeys were incomplete (either no touch-in, no touch-out or both).
12) The middle carriage of a 5-car Overground train is 18mm wider than the other carriages to accommodate air cooling power systems.
13) For taxi drivers learning The Knowledge the most northerly Point of Interest is Wood Green Highway, the most easterly is Trinity Buoy Wharf, the most southerly is Streatham Masonic Lodge, and the most westerly is Acton Waitrose.
14) During the financial year 2021/22 there were 16,738 incidents of roadworks on London's roads, 32% of which have subsequently been re-dug by the same utility company.
15) In 2023 the tube station with the highest recorded number of mouse sightings on its platforms was Piccadilly Circus. The peak time of day for sightings was between 10pm and 11pm.
16) Colours considered for the six new Overground lines, but not used, include Primrose Yellow (Pantone 115), Robin's Egg (Pantone 304), Heliotrope (Pantone 513), Laundry Grey (Pantone 421), Lobster Cardinal (Pantone 184) and Hepzibah's Shawl (Pantone 437).
17) Potholes on London bus routes are repaired on average 16 weeks before potholes on other roads.
18) The widest gap between the train and the platform on the London Underground is 279mm at Tower Hill (westbound). The narrowest is 3mm at Colindale (northbound).
19) The bus route with the greatest difference in air quality between its termini is the 14 (Russell Square 22.7µg/m3 NO2, Putney Heath 3.6µg/m3 NO2).
20) In 2024 the Woolwich Ferry operated 18,851 northbound river crossings and 15,964 southbound river crossings.
21) 17% of TfL office staff work from home at least two days a week, and 23% at least three days a week.
22) The Silvertown Tunnel contains eighteen '20' speed limit signs and sixteen '30' speed limit signs because the limit changes midway as traffic passes between the boroughs of Newham and Greenwich.
23) 56% of Underground tunnels now have 4G mobile coverage. This is anticipated to double by 2029.
24) The passenger display screens inside the 94 new Piccadilly line trains will be limited to showing adverts no more than 33% of the time.
25) A scrolling London bus map is expected to be added to the TfL Go app in March 2026.
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