Transport for London
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Transport for London (TfL) is responsible for the transport system of London, the capital city of the United Kingdom. TfL's role is to implement the transport strategy for, and to manage transport services across, the capital.
TfL is controlled by a board whose members are appointed by the Mayor of London, a position currently held by Ken Livingstone, who also chairs the board. The Commissioner of Transport for London, a position currently held by Robert Kiley, reports to the board and leads a management team with individual functional responsibilities.
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Organisation
TfL is broken down into a set of functional units, each with responsibility for different aspects and modes of transport. These are:
- Docklands Light Railway (normally abbreviated to DLR)
- London Buses
- London Dial-a-Ride
- London Rail
- London River Services
- London Street Management
- London Trams
- London Underground
- Public Carriage Office (responsible for taxi licensing)
- Victoria Coach Station
Each of the above units has its own corporate identity, formed by rendering the standard roundel in a different base colour, and with appropriate lettering across the horizontal bar. Additionally the roundel rendered in blue without any lettering is used to represent TfL as a whole. The same range of base colours is also used extensively in publicity, and on the TfL website.
Co-ordinated ticketing
Most of the transport modes which come under the control of Transport for London have their own charging and ticketing regimes. As an exception, buses and trams share one common fare and ticketing regime, and the DLR and the Underground another.
Superimposed on these mode specific ticketing regimes is the Travelcard system, which provides zonal tickets with validities from one day to one year, and also off-peak variants. These are accepted on the DLR, buses, railways, trams, the Underground and (to a limited extent) river services.
The Oyster card is a new contactless smart card system, which can be used in pre-pay mode (to pay individual fares) or to carry various Travelcards and other passes.
Journey planning
TfL has developed an electronic journey planner, which enables users to plan journeys by multiple modes in and around London. This is available on the web (see 'External links' below) and at kiosks and some payphones throughout London.
Congestion charging
TfL is also responsible for managing the London Congestion Charge, a fee that is charged to motorists entering the Central London area and which is used to fund public transport developments in the city.
Transport museum
TfL also owns and operates London's Transport Museum, a museum which conserves and explains London's transport heritage. The museum is open 7 days a week and is located in Covent Garden in central London, and contains buses, trams, underground vehicles and various explanatory displays. The museum also has an extensive depot, situated at Acton, which contains more material not normally on display; the depot has several open weekends each year.
History
TfL is the successor organization to London Transport, from which it inherited most of the above functions and modes in 2000, although the Underground was not transferred across until 2003. The Public Carriage Office was formerly part of the Metropolitan Police and street management was the responsibility of a mixture of national government and the London Boroughs; both transferred to TfL control in 2000.
A full history of the Organisations before tfl can be found at London's transport history from 1933.
See also
External links
- Transport for London website (http://www.tfl.gov.uk)
- Journey Planner on the web (http://www.tfl.gov.uk/journeyplanner)
Sources
- Transport for London (2004). Transport for London website (http://www.tfl.gov.uk). Retrieved November 17, 2004.de:Transport for London