NRE Usage Charging Document v 1.0
- 1. NRE Usage Charging Document_v 1.0 Version History Version Date Author Comment 00-01 2014-05-28 Lindsay Bleakley 01-00 2014-05-30 Lindsay Bleakley First Complete Draft Copyright The copyright in this work is vested in Train Information Services Limited (TISL) and the information contained herein is confidential. This work (either in whole or in part) must not be modified, reproduced, disclosed or disseminated to others or used for purposes other than that for which it is supplied, without the prior written permission of TISL. If this work or any part hereof is furnished to a third party by virtue of a contract with that party, use of this work by such party shall be governed by the express contractual terms between TISL which is a party to that contract and the said party. © 2014 Usage Charging Document Document Ref:
- 2. Overview Most of our Information feeds are provided free of charge to everyone; whether you are a commercial entity, a not-for profit organisation, a public body or a small independent developer. Some of our Information feeds are subject to usage based charges over and above a free threshold that has been defined as “High Volume Usage”. If you consistently generate a high volume of traffic, usage limits will apply and you will need to pay for extra usage. But don’t worry, if you go over the limits we won't immediately impose charges, shut off your access or display error messages on your product. If you exceed the free allocation we’ll contact you to let you know so that you can adjust your usage. If you continue to exceed your usage for more than three consecutive railway periods, we’ll attempt to get in touch with you to talk about payment. Summary Darwin Information feeds 3 Darwin Information feeds are subject to charges for High Volume Usage: Darwin Webservice (public & staff version) & Darwin Push Port; Public Body users are not subject to any charges for the Darwin Webservice or Darwin Push Port; Independent and/or commercial users of the Darwin Webservice and the Darwin Push Port have a free allocation of 5 million enquiries per 28 day railway period; and All enquiries above the 5 million per 28 day railway period are charged at 0.04 pence per enquiry. Journey Planning Information feeds One Information feed is chargeable with no free allocation, namely the Real-time Journey Planning (RTJP) Webservice. All RTJP Webservice enquiries are chargeable at a cost recovery rate of 0.0371 pence per enquiry. RTJP Webservice enquiries for trains departing in the next 2 hours will access Darwin, thus will count towards the High Volume Usage threshold of 5 million enquiries per period. What is the “High Volume Usage” threshold? High Volume Usage is set at 5 million enquiries per user per 28 day railway period. It applies to the Information feeds that are subject to the High Volume Usage threshold only, namely the Darwin Webservice and the Darwin Push Port. Use of NRE Information feeds by public bodies is not subject to the High Volume Usage threshold, unless the public body commercialise the information provided through the service, in which case the High Volume Usage threshold will apply.
- 3. NRE Information feeds with Associated Charges 1. Darwin Webservice (Public Version & Staff Version) The Darwin Webservice attracts charges for some users over and above a given threshold as follows: Threshold: 5 million enquiries per 28 day railway period Charge: 0.04 pence per enquiry Example: 0 to 5,000,000 = 0 chargeable = £0 6,000,000 = 1,000,000 chargeable @ 0.04 pence = £400 10,000,000 = 5,000,000 chargeable @ 0.04 pence = £2,000 2. Darwin Push Port The Darwin Push Port attracts charges for some users over and above a given threshold as follows: Threshold: 5 million enquiries per 28 day railway period Charge: 0.04 pence per enquiry Example: 0 to 5,000,000 = 0 chargeable = £0.00 6,000,000 = 1,000,000 chargeable @ 0.04 pence = £400.00 10,000,000 = 5,000,000 chargeable @ 0.04 pence = £2,000.00 3. Real Time Journey Planning Webservice (RTJP Webservice) The Real Time Journey Planning Webservice attracts charges for all users with no free allocation of enquiries, because NRE is charged by its supplier for each enquiry: Threshold: No free allocation threshold applies, all enquiries are charged at the rate NRE are charged Charge: 0.0371 pence per enquiry (subject to indexation) Example: 100,000 enquiries, chargeable @ 0.0371 pence = £37.10 1,000,000 enquiries, chargeable @ 0.0371 pence = £371.00 5,000,000 enquiries, chargeable @ 0.0371 pence = £1855.00
- 4. What Constitutes an 'Enquiry' in the Context of Usage Limits That Apply to NRE feeds? Due to the different technical composition of our Information feeds, an ‘enquiry’ in this context takes on a different meaning depending on the service that is being referenced, as follows: 1. Darwin Webservice (Public Version & Staff Version) The Darwin Webservice is request and respond API. In this case, and ‘enquiry’ means to submit a request through the webservice for information to be pulled from Darwin and served as a response to the initiator of the request. Specific examples of a single ‘enquiry’ include: An arrivals or departures request is loaded by a web page or application; The request is refreshed for more up-to-date information; A request for details on a specific train is made through a web page or application; or Any other request is made for information to be pulled through the webservice 2. Darwin Push Port The Darwin Push Port is a continuous stream of information that is ‘pushed’ to the user. In this case an ‘enquiry’ means any enquiry by your customer, to your Information feeds or products, that returns information derived from the Darwin Push Port. *PLEASE NOTE: By using this service you agree to provide NRE with a usage report each period. The usage report must show the number of customer enquiries made to your Information feeds or products that returns information derived from the Darwin Push Port. NRE reserve the right to audit the usage of this service if we believe the information we to be incorrect. 3. Real Time Journey Planning Webservice (RTJP Webservice) The RTJP Webservice is request and respond API. In this case, and ‘enquiry’ means to submit a request through the webservice for information to be pulled from our Journey Planner and served as a response to the initiator of the request. Specific examples of a single ‘enquiry’ include: A journey plan request or refresh is loaded by a web page or application; A request is made to search for later trains on an existing journey plan; A request is made to see the calling points on any given journey plan; or Any other request is made for information to be pulled through the webservice
- 5. What is a railway period? A railway period is 4 weeks and refers to the start / end date used for financial reconciliation within the railway industry. Measurement of usage will be applied between these dates. The forthcoming railway periods are show in the table below: Year 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 Start Day Period 1 01-Apr-14 01-Apr-15 01-Apr-16 01-Apr-17 01-Apr-18 01-Apr-19 01-Apr-20 End Day Period 1 27-Apr-14 03-May-15 01-May-16 30-Apr-17 29-Apr-18 28-Apr-19 03-May-20 2 25-May-14 31-May-15 29-May-16 28-May-17 27-May-18 26-May-19 31-May-20 3 22-Jun-14 28-Jun-15 26-Jun-16 25-Jun-17 24-Jun-18 23-Jun-19 28-Jun-20 4 20-Jul-14 26-Jul-15 24-Jul-16 23-Jul-17 22-Jul-18 21-Jul-19 26-Jul-20 5 17-Aug-14 23-Aug-15 21-Aug-16 20-Aug-17 19-Aug-18 18-Aug-19 23-Aug-20 6 14-Sep-14 20-Sep-15 18-Sep-16 17-Sep-17 16-Sep-18 15-Sep-19 20-Sep-20 7 12-Oct-14 18-Oct-15 16-Oct-16 15-Oct-17 14-Oct-18 13-Oct-19 18-Oct-20 8 09-Nov-14 15-Nov-15 13-Nov-16 12-Nov-17 11-Nov-18 10-Nov-19 15-Nov-20 9 07-Dec-14 13-Dec-15 11-Dec-16 10-Dec-17 09-Dec-18 08-Dec-19 13-Dec-20 10 04-Jan-15 10-Jan-16 08-Jan-17 07-Jan-18 06-Jan-19 05-Jan-20 10-Jan-21 11 01-Feb-15 07-Feb-16 05-Feb-17 04-Feb-18 03-Feb-19 02-Feb-20 07-Feb-21 12 01-Mar-15 06-Mar-16 05-Mar-17 04-Mar-18 03-Mar-19 01-Mar-20 07-Mar-21 13 31-Mar-15 31-Mar-16 31-Mar-17 31-Mar-18 31-Mar-19 31-Mar-20 31-Mar-21 How will excess usage by a user be calculated and billed? Usage is calculated against each user’s token or access credentials. Excess usage over the High Volume Usage threshold is calculated at the end of each period. If you exceed the High Volume Usage threshold, we will notify you at the end of the period to inform you that need to modify your usage to avoid being subject to charges. This approach will be taken for the first and second period that you exceed your usage limits. If you modify your usage to bring you back below the High Volume Usage threshold within 3 consecutive periods, we will not apply any retrospective charges. If your product generates excess usage every period for 3 consecutive periods, we will contact you to arrange payment. An invoice will be raised for the all additional usage above the High Volume Usage threshold over the past three periods. This approach will only be taken after the third consecutive period of exceeding usage limits. All charges are subject to VAT and you will be required to pay within 30 days of the invoice being generated. NRE reserve the right to terminate your use of the Information feeds if you fail to pay on time. How do I avoid a large bill if my usage unexpectedly increases? The usage charges do not take effect until the threshold has been exceeded for 3 consecutive periods. We will contact you each period if you exceed the threshold to give you every opportunity
- 6. to adjust your usage before you are subject to charges. Helpful guidelines are found in the developer guide on how to make most efficient use of the service. Can I use more than one API key to increase my available usage over the documented limits? The combined usage of all chargeable NRE Information feeds is calculated against your free allocation. Which NRE Information feeds are NOT subject to usage limits? Public CIS Darwin Timetable Changes Feed 3rd Party Alerting Webservice Windows Vista ‘LDB’ Gadget Apple Mac Widget Incidents XML (Service Disruption & Engineering Works) National Service Indicator XML Stations XML Stations Made Easy XML (accessibility information) Train Operating Companies XML Ticket Types XML Promotions XML