Post date: Jan 30, 2012 7:3:25 PM
LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (JANUARY 30, 2012) (REUTERS - London Mayor Boris Johnson urged Olympic dignitaries on Monday (January 30) to take public transport during this summer's Games rather than chauffeur-driven limousines on specially designated lanes, to help avoid raising the ire of log-jammed Britons.
London mayor tells VIPs to take the train to the Olympics rather than clog up the special Games Lanes road network. Tube bosses pledge that the threat of strike action on the underground rail system will be resolved by the time the millions of athletes and spectators arrive in the UK.
The Olympic Route Network (ORN), introduced after some athletes failed to arrive for their events in Atlanta 1996, is shaping up as one of the biggest irritants to Londoners who already have to endure long delays on the capital's narrow streets.
Londoners have also been warned they face queues of up to 30 minutes on the underground rail network at certain "hotspots" during peak times.
"Every possible exhortation has been given to Sepp Blatter other members of the IOC, all the Olympic family and their wives that they should understand the best, most sensible way of getting around London in Games time is to go by public transport and I am certainly going to be doing that myself," said Johnson, referring to Sepp Blatter head of FIFA and a member of the International Olympic Committee, a controversial figure after England failed to secure hosting the World Cup.
"I urge them (members of the International Olympic Committee) to do the sensible thing, do the right thing, get on the Jubilee Line. They'll love it," said Johnson.
Transport officials, confident the system will cope with the expected additional three million journeys on peak days, launched a "Get Ahead of the Games" campaign on Monday to raise
awareness among the public about potential overcrowding and to help plan journeys.
A website (www.getaheadofthegames.com) and Twitter will provide up-to-date information and tips on how to dodge congested areas.
One piece of advice was for commuters to delay their journeys home at peak hours by lingering in a pub for a beer.
But the launch came on the same day workers on London's Underground rail network, known as the Tube, turned down an improved Olympic bonus offer raising fears services could be disrupted by industrial action.
London has ground to a virtual halt several times in recent years when Tube drivers walked out on strike.
But London's Transport Commissioner Peter Hendy was confident the strike threat would be resolved in the coming months.
"We are not just going to pay up money willy-nilly. We are expecting a lot of our staff to work longer, differently and harder and those are reasonable things to pay people more money for. I am sure that as we have done in many other occasions we will get to a conclusion with the RMT and the other trade unions who represent our staff and we will have successful Games," said Hendy.
Transport for London (TfL) has already liaised with big business on how they can prepare and adapt for the Games, such as encouraging staff to work from home or change their hours,
use teleconferencing, take holidays, and adjust delivery patterns.
Hendy said London will struggle, unlike some other Olympic cities.
"London is a historic city and the Games are in inner London which is unusual for Games within a developed city. So the transport system is old, the road network is old, we don't have the opportunity of five-lane highways as they did in Beijing, so we have got to plan much more carefully to ensure that we can get ticket holders to their events," he said.
About 82,000 athletes, officials, media, sponsors and VIPs, will use the 109-mile ORN, which will also be open to general traffic except in certain areas. A third of the network will be
made up of the more restrictive Games Lanes with fines for those who breach the painted lines.
Many taxi drivers are threatening to go on holiday during the Games, fearing gridlock on the streets.
One of them, James Budlowther, said: "I'm going to Spain, get out the way. I can't stand it. It's enough with the traffic now without going when the Olympics start. Can you imagine what it's going to be like? Chaos."
Transport officials said sports fans and commuters will benefit from a 6.5 billion pound transport investment programme, including an upgrade to Kings Cross station and Stratford station, the main gateway to the Olympic Park in east London.
Train capacity on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), one of the main routes into Stratford, has been increased by 50 percent, while frequency and reliability had been improved on other key routes, officials said.
Underground trains will run an hour later than usual during the Games while 200 more buses will be running and more pay-and-ride bikes will be available for hire.
The two main Tube lines affected will be the Central and Jubilee lines, which both go to the Olympic Park.
Workers at Canary Wharf, where millions use the Jubilee line, had no confidence in the upgrades to a system which frequently suffers breakdown and delays.
"No confidence whatsoever. It is already pretty disastrous when there is a minor delay, so the numbers they are talking about I don't see how it possibly won't affect routes," said Alistair Cameron, summing up the mood of many Canary Wharf business district workers.