TfL’s new measures highlight commitment to transparency

Following the publication of a new transparency strategy, a raft of new measures is to be introduced to make Transport for London (TfL) an even more transparent organisation.

The measures follow a public consultation with customers and stakeholders, which sought views on the effectiveness of the wide range of information currently published by TfL and how it is presented.

TfL will now introduce a range of new measures that include publishing all replies to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests online beginning at in 2016, with the exact date of its introduction to be announced before the end of 2015.

TfL will issue a schedule in December that will show when regular information and datasets are published.

Also in December, webcasts of Board meetings will be made available to view via TfL’s YouTube channel for longer than the current period of six months.

TfL’s website will also evaluated to see if it can be made more user friendly and simpler to find and understand data. Any gaps in data provided by TfL on the number of passengers using each service will be identified and the presentation of the information standardised to make the information easier to understand.

Updates will be published twice a year on the progress made by TfL in an effort to further increase transparency and make the information more freely available.

TfL also provides an extensive range of real-time open-data feeds and they power hundreds of smartphone travel apps developed by third parties. This approach is being extended beyond travel information into areas such as road safety.

Mike Brown, MVO, London’s Transport Commissioner, said: “Our role is to modernise and improve London’s transport services so they continue to support new homes, jobs and economic growth. As we do this, we are committed to being open and transparent, and we are making more information publicly available than ever before.

“We want our customers and stakeholders to be able to scrutinise how we operate and how our income is spent for the benefit of London. For many years we have published a huge amount of information and data and this strategy is the next step in going even further.”

The information TfL already provides helps in the scrutiny of how the network is run. All income – from fares, charges, government grants and commercial activity – is reinvested in running and improving transport services.

TfL’s transparency policy is that all information should be made available publicly unless there’s a legitimate reason for not doing so. For example, personal customer data, should not be made available and some data could also have disproportionate costs associated with making it available.

The post TfL’s new measures highlight commitment to transparency appeared first on UK Construction Online.