24 May 2012

Olympic ticket holders consider travel plans

Those lucky enough to get hold of some tickets for this year's Olympic Games in London have been urged to start thinking about travel plans.

A number of people will rely on public transport for moving around in the capital city, however, fears are emerging that the oversubscribed underground system might not be able to cope with the volume of tourists and visitors.

This comes after two tube line failures on Thursday 24th May left passengers facing severe delays. The problem occurred at Embankment in central London, holding up passengers on the District and Circle line.

Prior to this, as many as six tube lines were hit by delays during busy morning rush hours.

Bob Crow, General Secretary of the RMT Transport Union, told ITV:

"This is shaping up to be a pre-Olympic London transport week of hell with London mayor Boris Johnson and his officials claiming a brilliant service while millions of Londoners know better.

"We are paying a heavy price for a programme of cuts to staffing and maintenance that has reduced the transport system to total chaos just weeks away from the Olympics and the blame lies firmly with the mayor and his senior officials.”

It's not just the underground that is struggling to cope; there were several delays on CrossCountry services and East Midlands Train companies on the same day. The delays, which were due to a signalling problem, meant that replacement buses had to be called in which extended journey times by up to 45 minutes in some cases.

A recent survey by the AA found that a third of people who are attending the Games are planning to travel by car to the event. Drivers appear to be realistic about parking opportunities with only 4% of people expecting to park near the venue.

Anyone hoping to hire a car for the event might want to investigate car hire excess insurance cover if they are parking in unfamiliar neighbourhoods.