Transport bosses have warned that a third of Londoners will have to work from home during the 2012 Olympic Games to avoid overcrowding on the tube and in buses. London Transport Commissioner Peter Hendy said he expects the city to follow the 2000 Sydney Olympics’ example, when 27 percent of workers took leave from their jobs to ease overcrowding. “I am not going to be responsible for a transport mess like Atlanta,” he said.
Organisers want to avert 1996 Atlanta ‘Glitch’ Olympics incident, where many competitors had to skip their events due to traffic congestion. Transport for London (TfL) said 60 percent of commuters would have to change their travel plans to enable the busy areas such as Canary Wharf to cope with the overcrowding. It also urged small and medium-sized businesses to change their working hours or allow staff to work from home to avoid traffic congestion.
Commuters have been told that they would have to wait for over half an hour for tubes at some of the busiest stations during the games. Around 5.3 million people are expected to turn up for the 16- day London Olympics, the Daily Mail reports. August 3 is expected to be the busiest day with around 800,000 people using public transport. Special “games lanes”, which will be reserved for the use of athletes and VIPs, are likely to add to the traffic woes.
