| |
Transport In London City | 
Custom Search
|
 |
Contents
|
Management
TfL is controlled by a boardwhose members are appointed by the Mayor of London, a position currently held by Boris Johnson, who also chairs the Board. The Commissioner of Transport for London(Peter Hendysince 17 January 2006) reports to the Board and leads a management team with individual functional responsibilities.
History
TfL was created in 2000 as part of the Greater London Authorityby the Greater London Authority Act 1999.[2] It gained most of its functions from its predecessor London Regional Transportin 2000. It 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 Officehad previously been a function of the Metropolitan Police.
Organisation
TfL 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, Victoriaand Waterloo & Citylines
JNP: Jubilee, Northernand Piccadillylines
SSR (Sub Surface Railway): Metropolitan, District, Circleand Hammersmith & Citylines
London Rail, responsible for:
Co-ordination with the operators that provide National Railservice within London.
London Overground.
Docklands Light Railway: normally abbreviated DLR, this is the automatically driven light railnetwork in East London, although actual operation and maintenance is undertaken by a private sectorfranchisee.
London Trams, responsible for managing London's tramnetwork, by contracting to private sector operators. At present the only tram system is Tramlinkin 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 24hour Emergency Control Centre based in Southwark.
London Dial-a-Ride, which provides paratransitservices throughout London.
London River Services, responsible for licensing and coordinating passenger services on the River Thameswithin 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 cabsand other private hire vehicles.
Victoria Coach Station, which owns and operates London's principal terminal for long distance bus and coach services.
Cycling Centre of Excellence, which promotes cycling in London
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 is currently developing the "London Freight Plan"[3] and is involved with setting up and supporting a number of Freight Quality Partnershipscovering key areas of London.
Transport for London's roundels.
Each of the main units has its own corporate identity, formed by differently-coloured versions of the standard roundeland 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). The same range of colours is also used extensively in publicity and on the TfL website.
Fares
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 and the Underground another.
Travelcard
Superimposed on these mode-specific regimes is the Travelcardsystem, 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|Oyster card]] The Oyster cardis a contactless smart cardsystem 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. From 2010 Oyester Pay as you go can be used on all National Railservices within London. Oyster Pay As You Go has a set of daily maximum charges that are cheaper than buying a daily Travelcard.
Journey planning
Alcohol ban
On 1 June 2008, the drinking of alcoholic beverageswas banned on Tube and London Overgroundtrains, buses, trams, Docklands Light Railwayand all stations across London. Carrying open containers of alcohol was also banned on public transport. The Mayor of Londonand 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 bylawsare altered to incorporate the ban the only enforcement action available is confiscation of the alcohol and/or ejection from the London Transport network.
Mentions in 2006 honours list
After the bombings on the underground and bus systemson 7 July 2005, many staff were recognised in the 2006 New Year honours listfor the heroic 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 include:
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)
John Gardner, Events Planning Manager (MBE)
London Transport Museum
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.