Olympics 2012 Are you ready?

Transcription

1 Olympics 2012 Are you ready? 1 BCD Travel 2012

2 At BCD Travel, we are looking forward with excitement to the Olympic Games being hosted this summer in London even if you are not an avid sports fan, it is likely to be a fantastic spectacle and is expected to create a feel good factor for the UK. Of course, for those organisations and their employees based in central London, it is also going to bring some real challenges during the actual days of the Games from 27th July, and then again from 29th August, when the Paralympic Games take place. This document provides information that identifies some of the expected travel delays that will occur and undoubtedly affect those with a daily commute to work, steps that, as our clients, you should consider to help minimise the impact on travel-related business activities of your organisation. Equally, this document reflects our determination to maintain a business as usual service to all of our customers throughout the Olympics Games 2012 period.. If you have any questions or concerns about any of the issues highlighted in this document, please contact your Account Manager. BCD Travel Client Communications 2 BCD Travel 2012

3 How to minimise business travel disruptions during Olympics Act today! If you ve not acted yet, you must take immediate steps to have any chance of helping their travellers during the Olympics (July 27-Aug. 12) and Paralympic Games (Aug. 29-Sept. 9). 2. Review your London travel needs Ask all departments to outline their anticipated demand for travel to London in July, August and September. Are meetings planned? How many of your travellers usually visit the city during this period? Are there any major corporate projects that will require trips into central London? 3. Consider imposing a blackout Communicate across your organisation that travellers should or must stay away from London during the Games. 4. Find alternative locations If employees need to meet during the Games, but the location is flexible, direct them to cities elsewhere in the United Kingdom. If they need to be in London for daytime appointments, look for accommodation within an hour s rail journey, in Oxford or Milton Keynes, for example. 5. Talk to your top hotel suppliers Companies that must have accommodation for business travellers during the Olympics should talk to hotel suppliers with whom they have the strongest relationships. Some hotels are working very closely with corporate customers to accommodate regular clients needs. 6. Consider extended-stay properties Some extended-stay brands are imposing only marginal increases on their apartments during the Games. They consider the Olympics an excellent opportunity to persuade potential corporate clients to try their product. 7. Remember the impact on air travel Increased demand is tightening summer flight availability to and from London. Corporate agreements can really make a difference in getting seats for your travellers, so talk to your suppliers now. 8. Prepare for potential disruptions At best, London will be a difficult city to move around during the Games, owing to the exceptionally high number of visitors and heightened security. If officials issue any security alerts, journey times could stretch even longer. Remind travellers to allow plenty of time between appointments and to create contingency plans for getting around London. 9. Keep everyone in the loop Communicate your plans and protocols to everyone who will be affected and send updates as the Games get closer. 10. Take advantage of helpful resources Check out the London 2012 Travel Advice for Business links shown under Links to useful documents within this guide. 3 BCD Travel 2012

4 Contents How to minimise business travel disruptions during Olympics Olympic Locations... 5 National events... 5 London events... 6 Dates and times of operation for venues in London... 7 Dates and times of operation for venues outside London.. 8 Key Arrivals Information... 9 BAA - the London Heathrow airport operator... 9 Diamond Air airport meet & greet services... 9 What is the ORN & PRN? What the experts are saying The Facts What is the impact for the traveller? Things you should know Buses Tube, DLR and Overground National Rail Commuting outside of London River Helpful Links / Numbers Links to Useful Documents BCD Travel 2012

5 Olympic Locations National events For a full venues listing please go to 5 BCD Travel 2012

6 London events 6 BCD Travel 2012

7 Dates and times of operation for venues in London Venue and location Dates of competition(including Opening and Closing Ceremonies) Times of venue operation Venue capacity Stations to avoid Olympic Park, east London ExCeL, Docklands North Greenwich Arena Greenwich Park The Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich O: 27 July 12 Aug P: 29 Aug 9 Sept O: 28 July 12 Aug P: 30 Aug 9 Sept O: 28 July 12 Aug P: 30 Aug 8 Sept O: 28 July 12 Aug (no events 10 Aug) P: 30 Aug 4 Sept O: 28 July 5 Aug P: 30 Aug 5 Sept 7am midnight 240,000 Stratford International; Stratford Regional; West Ham 7am midnight 40,000 Custom House; West Silvertown; Prince Regent; Pontoon Dock 7am midnight 20,000 North Greenwich; Charlton 8am 8pm 23,000 Greenwich; Cutty Sark; Blackheath 6am 6pm 7,500 Woolwich Arsenal Earls Court O: 28 July 12 Aug 7.30am midnight 15,000 Earl s Court; West Brompton Horse Guards Parade, Westminster O: 28 July 9 Aug 7am midnight 15,000 Charing Cross; Embankment; Piccadilly Circus; Green Park; Victoria Hyde Park, central London O: 4 10 Aug(no events on 5, 6 and 8 Aug) 7.30am 8pm 3,000 Green Park; Hyde Park Corner; Marble Arch; Paddington; Knightsbridge Lord s Cricket Ground, Central London O: 27 July 3 Aug 7am 8pm 5,000 St John s Wood; Marylebone Wembley Stadium O: 29 July 11 Aug (no events 30 July, 2 3, 5, 8 and 10 Aug) Wembley Arena O: 28 July 12 Aug(no events 6 8 Aug) 12.30pm 11.30pm 90,000 Wembley Park; Wembley Stadium; Wembley Central 6.30am midnight 6,500 Wembley Park; Wembley Stadium; Wembley Central Wimbledon O: 28 July 5 Aug 9am 10pm 30,000 Wimbledon; Southfields O = Olympic Games P = Paralympic Games Competition dates are based on the draft competition schedules for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and are correct at September These schedules have not yet been finalised and are subject to change. 7 BCD Travel 2012

8 Olympics 2012 Are you ready Dates and times of operation for venues outside London Venue and location Eton Dorney, Windsor and Eton Dates of competition(including Opening and Closing Ceremonies) O: 28 July 11 Aug (no events on 5 Aug) P: 31 Aug 2 Sept Times of venue operation Venue capacity 7.30am 3pm O: 30,000 P: 10,000 Stations to avoid Hadleigh Farm, Essex O: Aug 10.30am 3.30pm 12,000 Leigh-on-Sea Slough; Windsor & Eton Riverside Lee Valley White Water Centre, Broxbourne, Hertfordshire Weymouth and Portland, Dorset City of Coventry Stadium O: 29 July 01 Aug 7am 6pm 12,000 Cheshunt O: 29 July 11 Aug P: 1 Sept 6 Sep O: 25 July 9 Aug (no events on 27 and 30 Jul, Aug) Millennium Stadium, Cardiff O: 25 July 10 Aug (no events on 27, 29 and 30 Jul, 2, 5 9 Aug) Old Trafford, Manchester O: 26 July 7 Aug (no events on 27, 28 and 30 July, 2, 3 and 5 Aug) St James Park, Newcastle-upon-Tyne O: 26 July 4 Aug (no events on 27, 28 and 30 July, 2 Aug) Hampden Park, Glasgow O: 25 July 3 Aug (no events on 27, July and 2 Aug) 9am 6pm 50,000 Weymouth 10.30am 10.30pm 33,000 Coventry pm 74,500 Cardiff 10.30am 10.30pm 75,000 Manchester pm 52,000 Newcastle-upon-Tyne pm 52,000 Glasgow O = Olympic Games P = Paralympic Games Competition dates are based on the draft competition schedules for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and are correct at September These schedules have not yet been finalised and are subject to change. 8 BCD Travel 2012

9 Key Arrivals Information BAA - the London Heathrow airport operator No changes in number of Aircraft Departures and Arrivals as there is no more capacity. Dedicated bays for LOCOG coaches departures and arrivals. Dedicated spaces for LOCOG fleet vehicles. Arrivals Concourse- Arrivals hall hosting and hand over to LOCOG for dedicated ground transport. Baggage Reclaim- Reclaim hall management for high volumes of baggage and OOG/SOOG. Diamond Air airport meet & greet services More staff are being recruited for the Olympics, particularly candidates with multi-lingual skills. Closely working with BAA to establish volumes and predicted bookings to ensure sufficient resources throughout the Olympic Games. All London Airports and main train stations will be covered by extra staff. Acronyms: LOCOG-The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games OOG - out of gauge these are bigger than normal bags that need to be processed somewhere other than a normal check-in desk SOOG is super out of gauge really big bags or items for the Olympics things like bikes, javelins, canoes, pole vaults, etc. Further information regarding BAA can be found in the PowerPoint presentation: click here 9 BCD Travel 2012

10 What is the ORN & PRN? The Olympic Route Network and Paralympic Route Network (ORN and PRN) are networks of roads linking all the competition and key non-competition venues for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. They will enable key participants, such as athletes and officials, to travel safely, securely and efficiently between venues and their accommodation, while also keeping London and the rest of the UK moving. Why are they needed? As part of its Host City, London 2012 is required to provide safe, secure and reliable transport services to members of the Games Family. This is to ensure the people who make the Games happen can reach their venues within the journey times specified in the Contract, and in time for their events. Who will use the network? - The Olympic Route Network (ORN) and Paralympic Route Network (PRN) are designed for the rapid transfer of the 80,000 people who are critical to running successful Games. This group of people is known as the Games Family and includes: Athletes Technical Officials Media Olympic Committee Games Partners (Sponsors) When will the ORN & PRN operate? The Olympic Route Network (ORN), Paralympic Route Network (PRN) and associated traffic measures are temporary and will only operate when they are needed. They will be determined by demand, location and competition schedule Although there will be variations, these routes will typically be operational from 7am to 4pm, or 7am to 7pm when competition is taking place. Venues Outside London - Similarly, the routes to venues outside the capital, such as Eton Dorney, Hadleigh Farm, Lee Valley White Water Centre and Weymouth and Portland, will operate as and when they are needed. 10 BCD Travel 2012

11 What the experts are saying Two-thirds of large companies in the UK and 60 per cent in London believe the games will have a minimal impact on their ability to operate normally. Take account of information and plan and prepare for the knock-on effects of hosting the world s biggest sporting event. The games are in the heart of the city. That in itself is different. Many businesses expect the Olympics to just happen around them The Olympic games will have some form of impact on transport for around 100 days. 11 BCD Travel 2012

12 The Facts The 2012 Summer Olympic Games will be held in London from 27 July to 12 August 2012, followed by the 2012 Paralympics Games from 29 August to 9 September. London hosted the Olympic Games in 1908 and nations to take part in 300 events at the Olympic Games in nations will take part in the Paralympics. There are 37 competition venues across the country, of which 27 are in London. 80% of athletes will stay within 20 minutes of their event. 97% of athletes will stay within 30 minutes of their event. From mid-july 2012 route restrictions will be imposed on the city s already teeming road network to ensure competitors and officials can travel freely. 90% of venues will be served by three forms of public transport. Number of expected arriving passengers and departing 137,800 an increase of 7.2% at Heathrow. 80% of Games traffic will pass through Heathrow. Monday 13th August 2012 forecast to be busiest day ever for Departures. Bags handled on busiest day estimated at max. 185,000. There will be two major park and ride sites off the M25 with a combined capacity of 12,000 cars within 25 minutes of the Olympic park plus further National Park & Ride locations at other venues in the south of England. There are 9,000 park and ride spaces at Ebbsfleet in Kent where spectators can join the Javelin train for the 10 minute train service to the Olympic Park. 78% of spectators are likely to travel from within London and 22 % from regional UK and Europe. 80% of spectators and Olympic staff will use the train to reach the Olympic Park. 135,000 hotels rooms will be available for use within a 50km radius of the Olympic Park. 12 BCD Travel 2012

13 What is the impact for the traveller? Things you should know... Lots of work has been done to ensure the transport system operates effectively at Games-time. However, even with this work, there are certain times and locations where it will be exceptionally busy and travellers will need to plan their journeys around these hotspots. To manage the large number of additional passengers, transport systems will operate differently. In most cases, there will be more trains and later Tube, DLR and Overground services. Not all the information on impacts at stations is available yet as some of the plans for the Games are still being finalised. The TfL website will be updated as soon as more detailed information is available. Please keep checking or keep up-to-date by following us on You can also get TfL alerts to hear about latest updates and receive information on the affected public transport services and roads, to make your journeys easier during the Games. Buses Buses might be a good travel alternative for you during the Games. However, some bus routes will be diverted and/or disrupted due to road closures when road events are taking place, and other operational measures, such as banned turns and clearway restrictions. Extra buses will be added on some routes, where necessary, to cater for additional passengers. Tube, DLR and Overground During the Olympic Games, services will generally start between am as usual. On Sundays, the Tube and DLR services will start approximately minutes earlier in the morning, between 5.45 and 6.00am. The Tube and DLR services will run around 60 minutes later than normal on all days, including Sundays. Last trains from central London will leave around 1.30am. During the Olympic Games, the Tube will run extra evening services on the Jubilee, Central and District lines. There will be more trains running in the late evening from Friday 3 August, when events start at the Olympic Stadium. On certain days and at certain times of day during the Games, some stations will operate differently. Measures may include entry or exit only at some stations, one-way movement within the station or station closures at stations where capacity is not high enough to deal with the demand. These changes will be signed within the affected stations in advance so you can plan for these different operational measures. 13 BCD Travel 2012

14 National Rail National Rail services from London will operate later than normal. Last trains to locations within 2-3 hours of London will typically leave between midnight and 1am. Some trains may leave later such as Euston to Manchester at 1.30am. Plan rail journeys ahead as much as you can, some train operators will allow you to book 12 weeks in advance. National Rail will run longer and/or more frequent trains to and from most venue stations. If you're heading to a Games event, make sure you book your travel well in advance. River Taking the river to get to your destination might be a good option for you and there will be more river services in operation during the Games. Make sure you book your river travel in advance. For general commuter advice and an interactive map detailing Hot Spots please visit the following website Commuting outside of London Currently there is limited information about local rail services; please refer regularly to the website of your local rail service provider for specific information on travelling during the Olympic Games. Obviously, as and when we are advised of any plans or special measures for local rail services during the Games, we will update you. 14 BCD Travel 2012

15 Helpful Links / Numbers Company Web Address Additional Information Southeastern Trains Official Olympic Train Route Southern Railways Links to National Rail Networks Greater Anglia Extra services into Stratford Paralympics Schedule Travel disruption mitigation Javelin Train Services Ebbsfleet services to Olympic Park National Park n Ride locations (South England) Greenwich, ExCel, Eton Dorney, Weymouth and Portland, Hadleigh Farm, Company / Service Telephone Number CIBT Visas Diamond Air Meet and Greet Additional Information Links to Useful Documents Travel Advice for Business Summary Travel Advice for Business Handbook Smaller Business Factsheet Deliveries Factsheet Travel Advice for Business Checklist 15 BCD Travel 2012