Privacy
This policy is designed to inform you of our commitment to upholding your right to privacy when using any of our web services. It describes the ways in which we capture information and the ways in which we use it.
For a statement of TfL`s wider obligations under Data Protection Act, 1998 please click here to view our Terms and Conditions.
Transport for London (TfL) is a functional body of the Greater London Authority, reporting to the Mayor of London.
TfL is responsible for managing, providing and procuring a range of transport services and facilities on behalf of the Mayor. This is achieved through a number of wholly owned subsidiary companies and modes which include:
- London Buses
- Docklands Light Railway
- Dial-a-Ride
- London Trams
- Victoria Coach Station
- London River Services
- London`s Transport Museum
- London Underground
- Public Carriage Office
- CrossRail
- Street Management
TfL considers its obligations under the Data Protection Act and related legislation to be of paramount importance, and has taken steps to ensure compliance with those provisions.
This privacy policy explains what information TfL and its subsidiaries collect about those customers that use its websites and the procedures we have in place to safeguard your privacy.
What personal information do we collect?
The information we request from you will depend on the type of service you request or register for. It may simply be an e-mail address if you post a message to our bulletin board or it may include details such as Vehicle Registration Numbers if you are registering for Congestion Charging or credit card details if you purchase a ticket on-line.
In any case, we will only request information that is necessary to enable us to provide you with the service you have requested.
We may occasionally collect what is known as sensitive personal data under the Data Protection Act. This may happen where you are a Blue Badge holder and apply for a congestion charging discount or are claiming a fare refund owing to ill health. When we collect this type of data we are required to go to greater lengths to look after it and keep its use to a minimum. We will always aim to get your agreement to our using your sensitive personal data for those limited purposes.
If you are under 18, please get your parent/guardian's permission before providing personal information to TfL.
Why do we collect and store your information?
TfL operates in a wide variety of business areas and therefore uses personal data in many different ways. These purposes are notified to the Information Commissioner who regulates the Data Protection Act and you can see the current notification for TfL and its subsidiaries at www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk
The principle purposes for which we collect and store your information are:
- Travel ticket administration (including fare enforcement and prosecutions)
- Congestion charging
- Bus lane enforcement
- Research
- Marketing
- Travel alerts
- Taxi and private hire vehicle licensing
- Provision of customised web enabled services
- Journey planning
- General information relating to TfL`s activities
How do we contact you?
We may contact you to provide the services that you have purchased or registered for. Depending on your preferences we may contact you by post, email, telephone or text messaging.
What do we do with your information?
Direct Marketing
When we collect information from you we will tell you if we would like to send you information about our products and services or transport related issues. We will give you the opportunity to tell us you do not wish to receive such information. If you do not object to receiving marketing material at the time, but subsequently change your mind, you may tell us so at any time by contacting us using the details given below.
For information please contact mailto:enquire@tfl.gov.uk
If we wish to share your data with third parties for marketing purposes, we will again tell you about this and only do so if we get your consent. Again, you may tell us at any time that you no longer agree to your details being shared with third parties for marketing purposes.
Research
Occasionally, we or one of our agents may contact you for research purposes. We only hire reputable third parties do undertake such projects on our behalf. You are under no obligation to participate in this research.
Disclosing information
We may disclose your personal data to our service providers who are responsible for operating some of our services.
These may include train operating companies for the DLR, bus operating companies and processors involved in congestion charging and providing ticketing and information services. Where such disclosures are made, this will be under contractual arrangements with TfL and carried out in accordance with the requirements of the Data Protection Act, 1998.
We may also disclose your personal data to the London Boroughs and other agencies such as appeals and adjudication services, and the Passenger Consultative Committee; we would only do this with your consent.
TfL may disclose personal data to the DVLA, police and other law enforcement agencies at their request, for the purposes of crime prevention and detection and where otherwise required to do so by law.
Use of cookies on our site
A cookie is a piece of text that a website transfers to a directory on your computer's hard disk, so that the website can remember who you are. This text file is known as a `cookie`.
A cookie will typically contain the name of the website from which the cookie has come, the "lifetime" of the cookie, and a value, usually a randomly generated unique number. Allowing a website to create a cookie does not give that or any other website access to the rest of your computer, and only the site that created the cookie can read it.
Two types of cookies are used on these websites:
Session cookies
Which are temporary cookies that remain in the cookie file of your browser until you leave the site.
Persistent cookies
Which remain in the cookie file of your browser for much longer (though how long will depend on the lifetime of the specific cookie). Cookies can help a website to arrange content to match your preferred choices. Most major websites use cookies.
Our cookies cannot be used by themselves to identify you.
Find out more about cookies at http://www.allaboutcookies.org/cookies/
How we use cookies on our site and what information we collect
Session cookies
- To allow you to carry information across pages of our site and avoid having to re-enter information
- To allow you to maintain a shopping basket
- Within registration to allow you to access stored information
Persistent cookies
- To help us recognise you as a unique visitor (just a number) when you return to our website and to allow us to tailor content or advertisements to match your preferred interests or to avoid showing you the same adverts repeatedly
- Within research surveys to ensure you are not invited to complete a questionnaire too often or after you have already done so
Third party cookies
Third parties serve persistent cookies via this site. These are used for the following purposes:
- To compile anonymous, aggregated statistics that allow us to understand how users interact with our site and to help us improve the structure of our website. We cannot identify you personally in this way
- To serve advertisements on our site and track whether these advertisements are clicked on by users
- To control how often a particular advertisement is shown
- To tailor preferences
- To count the number of anonymous users of our site
- To provide security within shopping baskets or transactions
Use of web beacons
Some of our web pages may contain electronic images known as Web beacons (sometimes known as clear gifs) that allow us to count visiting these pages. Web beacons collect only limited information which including a cookie number, time and date of a page view, and a description of the page on which the web beacon resides. We may also carry web beacons placed by third party advertisers. These beacons do not carry any personally identifiable information and are only used to track the effectiveness of a particular campaign.
Find out more about web beacons at http://www.allaboutcookies.org/web-beacons/
Disabling / enabling cookies
You have the ability to accept or decline cookies by modifying the settings in your browser. However, you may not be able to use all the interactive features of our site if cookies are disabled.
You have two options if you wish to disable cookies:
1) You may opt out of the third party cookies used on this site by following a few simple steps which can be found at http://www.websidestory.com/privacy/
2) You may disable cookies through your browser by following the instructions found at http://www.allaboutcookies.org/manage-cookies/
Protecting your information
We use up-to-date industry procedures to protect your personal information. We also protect the security of your data during transmission using Secure Sockets (SSL) Layer encryption software.
We have appropriate security measures in place in our physical facilities to protect against the loss, misuse or alteration of information that we have collected from you via our websites.
The internet is not a secure medium of communication. TfL cannot guarantee the security of any information you input on this website or send to us on the internet.
TfL is not, and will not be, responsible for any damages you or others may suffer as a result if the loss of confidentiality of any such information.
Changes to this policy
We may revise this policy at any time by posting the revised policy on the TfL website. Your continued use of the site will mean that you accept those revisions.
Links to other websites
The TfL website may contain links that make it easier for users to visit other websites. If you use the links to leave this website and to visit one operated by a third party, we will not have any control over that website, makes use of cookies.
TfL cannot be responsible for your protection and privacy when visiting such websites. You should check the privacy policies of those websites before entering any personal information.
Contact details
Transport for London
Telephone:
020 7222 5600 (Customer Services - office hours)
020 7222 1234 (Travel Information - 24 hours)
Email: enquire@tfl.gov.uk
Post:
Customer Services
Windsor House
42-50 Victoria Street
London
SW1H 0TL
United Kingdom
TfL website: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/
Congestion Charging
Post:
Congestion Charging London
PO Box 2985
Coventry
CV7 8ZR
United Kingdom
By Telephone:
0845 900 1234
CCLondon website: http://www.cclondon.com/
Transport for London

