NO to Photography on the London Underground
***disclaimer: I don't make money on this website, and this photo is not for commercial purposes. This is a personal-use blog website only.
Background and Facts
Want to take some photos while riding the Tube, London’s famous subway? That’ll be 600 British Pounds (approximately 800 USD), please, says TfL (Transport for London).
I’m writing this as a warning to anyone who travels in the London area and uses the “Tube” – London’s famous subway – to traverse the city. I won’t recite all the details here, because my complaint below pretty much covers them all. It’s a long read, but it’s a good read, I promise.
The original complaint
This is the original complaint I submitted to TfL on 3MAY2017, after being harassed by a TfL employee for taking photos:
Dear Sir or Madam:
I am disheartened to write about an unfortunate event that took place while traveling on the Underground system yesterday, 2 May 2017. As a fellow employee in the transportation industry, and an avid Tube enthusiast, I must say I am very disappointed by the way a member of the TfL staff treated me.
Early in the afternoon hours yesterday I arrived via Piccadilly service to the Park Royal Underground station with the hopes of taking a few photographs of the iconic, aged “Underground” signage that appears in plain view over the station hall. All of the photographs I take are for personal use only, and are not sold, otherwise redistributed for profit, or used for any type of marketing in any way shape or form.
As I was taking a few photos of the empty vacant platforms, I noticed a female TfL employee who appeared to be curious to my photo-taking activity. After walking the length of the platform she returned to where I was standing and harshly questioned me as to why I was taking the photographs. I informed her they were for personal use only, to which she shortly replied, “okay, that’s fine then.”
After a few trains passed through the station, the same female employee quickly approached me from my rear and shouted very abruptly, “OKAY NOW WE ARE DONE HERE.” Before I had a chance to response, she informed me that flash photography is not allowed and was distracting to the train drivers. Understanding where the possible misunderstanding might be coming from, I calmly and politely explained to her that my camera does not even feature a flash option, and thus could not possibly be in violation of this policy. I even volunteered to show her the camera, but the station employee rudely and abruptly interrupted me saying that I needed to stop, as she had, “spoken to the controller” and “drivers had complained.”
I have the utmost respect for TfL policies, and admire the service TfL provides for those in the area of London. TfL easily manages and maintains one of the best run mass-transit systems in the world; I have no doubt the system in use works well. However, the aggressive behavior and hostile tone exhibited by the Park Royal station employee leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Someone admiring an (empty) station platform is surely not harming anyone or any part of the system, and even if they are, do not need to be aggressively told to stop doing so after previously being told that their behavior “is fine.”
I fail to understand this employees course of actions on 2 May 2017, first approaching me, validating I was in compliance with the TfL policy regarding personal-use photography, and later becoming visibly upset and distraught over the matter. This employee failed to maintain any level of professional composure while addressing me, which I find completely unacceptable. I was nothing but polite and kind with the employee during both of the interactions with her. Furthermore, her vivid attempts to dismantle my simple personal-use photography while enjoying views and architecture of the Park Royal station clearly demonstrates she has little respect for the customers, as exhibited by her repeated attempts to fabricate information and facts to expedite my departure from the station.
While I don’t doubt the efficiency of this employee’s ability or TfL system’s overall ability to be in contact with the station employee, drivers, and “controllers” in a short time period – I seriously doubt that within a time span of ten minutes and one single train that someone actually complained about someone taking a single photo of a single carriage. I have personally taken nearly ten thousand photographs while on or in the immediate vicinity of the London Underground system, and never had this problem from TfL employees, and have actually been encouraged and offered help from multiple TfL employees while completing my photo endeavors. In this case, the Park Royal station employee continued to fabricate and create additional excuses as to why whatever I was doing wasn’t allowed, even though she didn’t actually know what I was doing or what technology I was using (she wasn’t interested, despite my calm and repeated attempts to explain), as she was looking for any possible reason to end the photography-taking as she clearly had a personal vendetta against it through repeated “reaching” and “grasping” techniques. After realizing she was caught in her lie, she fabricated more lies to cover it up.
As far as I can tell, TfL does not have a restriction on personal-use photography while in or of the vicinity of the Underground system, beyond the restriction of using flash-photography, which I completely agree with and abide by at all times. I would encourage whoever reviews this complaint to also review the station’s CCTV footage of the incident and find evidence indicating I was using flash-photography; I can assure you with great certainty, it does not exist. I use a Canon DSLR 5D Mark III camera, which does not even HAVE a built-in flash. I did not have any external flashes attached to my camera, as the video evidence will clearly show me attempting to demonstrate to the hostile and dismissive station employee.
Finally, while I understand TfL likely holds the rights to refuse travel to anyone at any time as a condition of the contract of carriage, I do not feel that the station employee’s extension of this authority, should it exist, was exerted in an appropriate or professional manner. As a former customer service manager for a global airline, I could not be more disappointed in this employee’s rude demeanor and blatant lies in an attempt to get her way, despite no real policy to back her claims up.
Thank you for your attention to this matter, and I await a prompt response.
Photos
I regret to post evidence on the Internet, but this needs to be shared. What this employee would go through to force me away from taking a few photos is incredible...
There she is, just waiting... (I didn't even realize she was spying up there until I got these photos into editing a few days later)
TfL's Response
TfL responded a few days later:
Thanks for your email today about the poor customer service you experienced from one of our staff at Park Royal station.
I'm sorry you experienced such poor customer service from our staff at Park Royal station that day. I understand how frustrating this must’ve been for you especially as you were spoken to in such a rude and aggressive manner. The behaviour you describe falls well short of the standards we expect from our staff.
I’ve looked into this for you and good customer service is a priority and we invest a lot of time making sure our staff are trained to the highest standards possible. It's always disappointing when these standards aren't met.
We take all complaints very seriously, so I've informed the Area Manager responsible for Park Royal about your experience. As a priority, they'll identify the staff member you described. The CCTV footage will also be viewed to support your complaint. They'll then take appropriate action to make sure lessons are learnt and such behaviour isn't repeated.
The Area Manager will arrange for the member of staff to be interviewed in order to establish their side of the incident. Once both sides are heard, a decision is made as to the most appropriate course of disciplinary action. The seriousness of the allegations and the member of staff’s previous service and conduct are factors that will also be taken into consideration.
The outcome of any staff investigation is a strictly confidential matter, so I won't be able to advise you of the conclusion. However, I can assure you that we take all staff complaints very seriously and we always do our utmost to prevent any recurrence of behaviour that falls short of the standards we require from our staff.
Once again, I'm very sorry for what happened and understand this must’ve been deeply frustrating for you. It's really important for us to meet and exceed our customers' expectations. This means your feedback will help us improve our services.
Thanks again for contacting us. If there's anything else we can assist you with, please reply to this email and we'll be happy to help. Alternatively, you can speak to one of our Customer Service Advisers on 0343 222 1234.
My Thoughts
TfL’s first response was pretty good, it outlined a clear plan while using some pretty good echo-communication techniques to make me feel “listened to” – and I was almost satisfied. But I wanted to press the matter a little bit more to get a clear answer on some questions I felt were unanswered. I replied with the following, a few days later.
My Reply
Thank you for your prompt response to this matter, as well as the well-laid out plan of action regarding the incident.
As a former customer service manager, I understand and respect the need for staff privacy regarding any potential disciplinary actions. That said, if through TfL’s investigation of the aforementioned incident it is determined that I was in fact in violation of ANY TfL or Underground policy and the Park Royal employee acted within her rights to initiate the discontinuation of personal-use photography, I would like to be advised of that determination (along with supporting evidence), so that I may be aware of that interpretation of said policy for any potential future encounters at the Park Royal station, as well as to notify and disseminate that interpretation to anybody else who may potentially encounter this situation in the future.
I believe the minor addition outlined above, paired with your already appropriately and well-laid out plan of action, will help prevent such a conflict from occurring again in the future, and will foster a good working relationship between those conducting personal-use photography and TfL staff members.
I truly appreciate your attention to this matter, and thank you for your time and efforts.
TfL Responds a Second Time
A few days later, I received another follow up:
Thanks for your further email of 9 May about taking photographs on the TfL network for personal use.
Firstly, I would like to sincerely apologise for the way you were spoken to by a TfL employee. I can assure you the staff member will be interviewed and necessary action taken.
We have a dedicated webpage that outlines our policy for filming & photography on our network. However, as a world-class city that attracts a lot of tourists; we understand that customers might want to take an odd picture here and there as a souvenir. This is why we don’t mind if customers on our network take some photographs with a non-flash camera.
In your complaint, you stated that staff member was okay with you taking photographs but after a few trains had passed, they returned and asked you to stop. I understand the behaviour and tone of staff member was unacceptable and this is being dealt with separately. However, a few trains that run few minutes apart suggest that you were on the platform for a long time taking photographs. This means that you would need a permit to take photographs. I’m stating this because in your response you requested policy for photography on our network and I hope I’m clear in advising you that taking an odd photograph is okay but if you’re spending some time on the platform taking photographs then a permit is required. You can find more information on our website: https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/filming-and-photography/filming-and-photography-on-tfl?intcmp=1594
I would like to again sincerely apologise for the behaviour displayed by the TfL staff member and I trust this will not deter you from travelling on our network again.
The breakdown
Unfortunately, TfL’s second response tells a different story with a much different tone. The responder's tone is clearly defensive in an attempt to protect the wrongdoings of the Park Royal Station employee, citing references and quotes from their website which, in my opinion, are pretty clearly targeted at professional film crews attempting to take photos or film on the TfL network (take one look at the pricing and links on the website and you’ll see what I mean). Come on, TfL, you expect a tourist to pay you six hundred pounds (minimum) to take some photos on the Tube? That’s obnoxious at best, folks. This “film” policy is CLEARLY targeted at PROFESSIONAL setups in a for-profit situation, not tourists. Please.
I guess my "crew size" is one? Unless I bring a friend with... then it's two?
Should I check "other" and write in "tourist?"
But Really...
What’s more obnoxious is how this employee in the second response fabricates their own policy in an attempt to back up the Park Royal employee’s behavior. “Well an odd photo is okay, but not for an extended period of time.” That’s not at all what the photo/film website that they themselves quoted says, so now I’m confused.
What if I’m at the Acton Town station (where trains headed to many different destinations pass through on the same platform) waiting for an Uxbridge-bound train, and three Heathrow-bound trains pass, and I take a photo of the second one? According to TfL’s second response, that wouldn’t be allowed, even though maybe it’s an “odd photo” – like they specify is allowed? I just keep getting more confused the more I think about this…
Furthermore, take one look at said application; it’s asking questions that are very CLEARLY related to professional productions for profit, not some tourist taking a photo with a semi-expensive camera. For example, under “required documentation” you need “relevant copy of script or storyboard” and a certificate of insurance. What tourist in their right mind has insurance for taking photos while riding a subway? Seriously? Is all common sense lost on TfL employees? I’d argue that it in fact has been lost on many of them.
Don't forget your insurance, now!
Legally Speaking...
Looking at TfL’s conditions of carriage (which can be found here), there is no mention of photography or filming except for one clause in section 4.5 stating (among other irrelevant things), "For safety reasons… you must not: … take flash photography and/or use a tripod or other camera support equipment."
After re-reading their "film application" I also found their "filming terms and conditions." Sure doesn't look targeted at your average tourist to me... (you can read it here).
Final Words
As someone who has been supported by TfL employees in taking photographs in the past, encouraged by TfL staff to run challenges such as the Tube Challenge or other renditions of it, I’m absolutely disgusted in corporate TfL’s handling of this particular situation, and I think TfL should be ashamed of themselves.
Moral of the story: London’s Underground network is not open for photography, keep moving people.
published... May 2017