Mayor Plays Down 2012 Transport Fears
London 2012 organisers have launched a new website to raise awareness of Olympic transport issues and help Londoners ‘Get ahead of the Games’. The interactive site details expected hotspots on the capital’s underground system, and offers advice on how best to avoid them.
The £8.8m campaign was revealed on Monday, to try and persuade city residents and workers to change their travel patterns to ease the strain on public transport, and also saw the unveiling of the Games’ magenta signage.
London 2012 will involve 14,000 athletes, 7,000 technical officials, 20,000 media and 11 million spectators.
Speaking at the launch, Mayor of London Boris Johnson also urged Olympic chiefs to take the Tube during London 2012: ‘To all members of the International Olympic Committee, I urge them to do the right thing – get on the Jubilee Line because they’ll love it’.
Transport Commissioner Peter Hendy added that the TfL’s twin objectives – to host a great Games and keep London and the UK moving – would be achieved as London, which already sees 25m daily journeys, was well equipped to deal with the 3m more expected on the busiest day of the Games.
He said the website’s day-by-day planner showed which Tube stations would be busiest, and while hotspots such as Canary Wharf and London Bridge might see half-hour delays for passengers boarding trains during rush hour, he added that people would not be adversely affected if they planned their routes.
The campaign has been developed for Transport for London (TfL), the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), and other transport operators by M&C Saatchi.
The poster campaign displays caricatures of Olympic and Paralympic athletes in day-to-day London transport situations to raise awareness of potential transport congestion hotspots, such as two weightlifters squeezing themselves through the doors of a busy train.
