Transport for London

Not to be confused with Transport in London.

Transport for London

File:Transport-for-London.svg
Area of responsibility within the United Kingdom
Abbreviation	TfL
Formation	3 July 2000 (Greater London Authority Act 1999)
Type	Public body
Legal status	Executive agency within GLA
Purpose	Transport authority
Headquarters	Windsor House, Victoria Street, Westminster, London
Region served	Greater London
Chairman	Mayor of London Boris Johnson
Main organ	London Underground London Buses London Rail London Streets London Overground
Parent organization	Greater London Authority (GLA)
Staff	28,000
Website	www.tfl.gov.uk

Transport for London (TfL) is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London. Its head office is in Windsor House in the City of Westminster.

History

See also: History of public transport authorities in London

TfL was created in 2000 as part of the Greater London Authority by the Greater London Authority Act 1999. It gained most of its functions from its predecessor London Regional Transport in 2000. The first Commissioner of TfL was Bob Kiley. The first Chair was then-Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, and the first Vice-Chair was Dave Wetzel. Livingstone and Wetzel remained in office until the election of Boris Johnson as Mayor in 2008.

TfL did not take over responsibility for the London Underground until 2003, after the controversial Public-private partnership (PPP) contract for maintenance had been agreed. Management of the Public Carriage Office had previously been a function of the Metropolitan Police.

Transport for London Group Archives holds business records for TfL and its predecessor bodies and transport companies. Some early records are also held on behalf of TfL Group Archives at the London Metropolitan Archives.

After the bombings on the underground and bus systems on 7 July 2005, many staff were recognised in the 2006 New Year honours list for the work they did. They helped survivors out, removed bodies, and got the transport system up and running, to get the millions of commuters back out of London at the end of the work day. Those mentioned include Peter Hendy, who was at the time Head of Surface Transport division, and Tim O'Toole, head of the Underground division, who were both awarded CBEs. Others included David Boyce, Station Supervisor, London Underground (MBE); John Boyle, Train Operator, London Underground (MBE); Peter Sanders, Group Station Manager, London Underground (MBE); Alan Dell, Network Liaison Manager, London Buses (MBE) and John Gardner, Events Planning Manager (MBE).

On 1 June 2008, the drinking of alcoholic beverages was banned on Tube and London Overground trains, buses, trams, Docklands Light Railway and all stations operated by TfL across London but not those operated by other rail companies. Carrying open containers of alcohol was also banned on public transport operated by TfL. The Mayor of London and TfL announced the ban with the intention of providing a safer and more pleasant experience for passengers.

There were "Last Round on the Underground" parties on the night before the ban came into force. Until bylaws are altered to incorporate the ban the only enforcement action available is confiscation of the alcohol and/or ejection from the London Transport network.

Organisation

TfL is controlled by a board whose members are appointed by the Mayor of London, a position held by Boris Johnson who also chairs the Board. The Commissioner of Transport for London (Peter Hendy since 17 January 2006) reports to the Board and leads a management team with individual functional responsibilities.

The body is organised in three main directorates and corporate services, each with responsibility for different aspects and modes of transport. The three main directorates are:

• London Underground, responsible for running London's underground rail network, commonly known as the tube, and managing the provision of maintenance services by the private sector. This network is sub-divided into three service delivery units:
  • BCV: Bakerloo, Central, Victoria and Waterloo & City lines
  • JNP: Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines
  • SSR (Sub Surface Railway): Metropolitan, District, Circle and Hammersmith & City lines
• London Rail, responsible for:
  • Co-ordination with the operators that provide National Rail service within London.
  • London Overground, although actual operation is undertaken by a private sector franchisee and maintenance by Network Rail.
  • Docklands Light Railway: normally abbreviated DLR, this is the automatically driven light rail network in east London, although actual operation and maintenance is undertaken by a private sector franchisee.
  • London Trams, responsible for managing London's tram network, by contracting to private sector operators. At present the only tram system is Tramlink in south London, but others are proposed.
• Surface transport, consisting of:
  • London Buses, responsible for managing the red bus network throughout London, largely by contracting services to private sector bus operators. Incorporating CentreComm, London Buses Command & Control Centre, a 24-hour Emergency Control Centre based in Southwark.
  • London Dial-a-Ride, which provides paratransit services throughout London.
  • London River Services, responsible for licensing and coordinating passenger services on the River Thames within London.
  • London Streets, responsible for the management of London's strategic road network.
  • London congestion charge.
  • Public Carriage Office, responsible for licensing the famous black cabs and other private hire vehicles.
  • Victoria Coach Station, which owns and operates London's principal terminal for long distance bus and coach services.
  • "Delivery Planning" which promotes cycling in London
  • "Special Projects Team" manages the contract with Serco for the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme
  • Walking, which promotes better pedestrian access.
  • London Road Safety Unit, which promotes safer roads through advertising and road safety measure.
  • Community Safety, Enforcement and Policing, responsible for tackling fare evasion on buses, delivering policing services that tackle crime and disorder on public transport in cooperation with the Metropolitan Police Service's Transport Operational Command Unit (TOCU) and the British Transport Police.
  • Traffic Enforcement, responsible for enforcing traffic and parking regulations on the red routes
  • Freight Unit, which has developed the "London Freight Plan" and is involved with setting up and supporting a number of Freight Quality Partnerships covering key areas of London.

TfL owns and operates the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden, a museum that conserves and explains London's transport heritage. The museum also has an extensive depot, situated at Acton, that contains material impossible to display at the central London museum, including many additional road vehicles, trains, collections of signs and advertising materials. The depot has several open weekends each year. There are also occasional heritage train runs on the Metropolitan line.

TfL has developed an electronic "Journey Planner", which enables users to plan journeys by all forms of public transport and bicycle in and around London.

Operations centre

The Palestra building, home to TfL's Surface Transport and Traffic Operations Centre (STTOC)

TfL's Surface Transport and Traffic Operations Centre (STTOC) was officially opened by Prince Andrew, Duke of York in November 2009. The centre monitors and coordinates official responses to traffic congestion, incidents and major events in London. London Buses Command and Control Centre (CentreComm), London Streets Traffic Control Centre (LSTCC) and the Metropolitan Police Traffic Operation Control Centre (MetroComm) were brought together under STTOC.

STTOC played an important part in the security and smooth running of the 2012 Summer Olympics. There are plans to locate the London Underground Network Operations Centre within STTOC. The centre featured in the 2013 BBC Two documentary series The Route Masters: Running London's Roads.

Fares

Head office, Windsor House

Most of the transport modes that come under the control of TfL have their own charging and ticketing regimes for single fare. Buses and trams share a common fare and ticketing regime, and the DLR, Overground, Underground, and National Rail services another.

Zonal fare system

Main article: London fare zones

Rail service fares in the capital are calculated by a zonal fare system. London is divided into eleven fare zones, with every station on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and, since 2007, on National Rail services, being in one, or in some cases, two zones. The zones are mostly concentric rings of increasing size emanating from the centre of London. They are (in order):

• Zone 1
• Zone 2
• Zone 3
• Zone 4
• Zone 5
• Zone 6
• Zones 7–9, G and W

Travelcard

Main article: Travelcard

Superimposed on these mode-specific regimes is the Travelcard system, which provides zonal tickets with validities from one day to one year, and off-peak variants. These are accepted on the DLR, buses, railways, trams, the Underground and provides a discount on many river services fares.

Oyster card

Main article: Oyster card

The Oyster card is a contactless smart card system introduced for the public in 2003, which can be used to pay individual fares (pay as you go) or to carry various Travelcards and other passes. It is used by holding the card close to the yellow card reader. Card readers are found on ticket gates where otherwise a paper ticket could be fed through, allowing the gate to open and the passenger to walk through, and on stand-alone Oyster validators, which do not operate a barrier. Since 2010, Oyster Pay as you go has been available on all National Rail services within London. Oyster Pay as you go has a set of daily maximum charges that are the same as buying the nearest equivalent Day Travelcard.

Identity and marketing

File:Tfl logos.png

TFL's corporate roundels

Each of the main transport units has its own corporate identity, formed by differently-coloured versions of the standard roundel logo and adding appropriate lettering across the horizontal bar. The roundel rendered in blue without any lettering represents TfL as a whole (see Transport for London logo), as well as used in situations where lettering on the roundel is not possible (such as bus receipts, where a logo is a blank roundel with the name "London Buses" to the right). The same range of colours is also used extensively in publicity and on the TfL website.

Transport for London has always mounted advertising campaigns to encourage use of the Underground. For example, in 1999, they commissioned artist Stephen Whatley to paint an interior - 'The Grand Staircase' – which he did on location inside Buckingham Palace. This painting was reproduced on posters and displayed all over the London Underground.

In 2010 they commissioned artist Mark Wallinger to assist them in celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Underground, by creating the Labyrinth Project, with one painting to hang permanently in each of the Tube's 270 stations.

See also

• Articulated buses in London
• Passenger transport executive
• Selective vehicle detection
• Transport in London

External links

• Official website
• London Group of Campaign for Better Transport
• London TravelWatch
• Transport for London companies grouped at OpenCorporates