TfL suspends data feed due to overwhelming demand

Application developer demand causes TfL to temporarily close doors to its data

TfL said it is encouraged by the large demand for data

Transport for London (TfL) has had to temporarily suspend its London Underground Departure Board data feed due to an overwhelming demand by application developers.

In June, TfL made new information about London's tube, bus and river services available for public use. It has allowed web developers to use the data to create products such as mobile phone apps to help commuters for commercial gain without having to obtain TfL's permission first.

Since the feed went live a fortnight ago, it has received 10 million hits a week, according to the organisation. TfL said it is “encouraged” by the demand for data forcing it to temporarily shut down the feed, claiming that its popularity demonstrates there is a great appetite by developers for accurate and timely information that can help passengers with their daily travel.

“We are really encouraged that the feed to our Tube departure information is so popular and TfL is doing everything to restore it as soon as possible but this may take some time,” said Steve Townsend, director of information management for London Underground.

“We’re sorry for the temporary disruption to this API Beta feed and we will provide an update as soon as we have further information.”