Over half (56%) of Londoners say that the Government’s ‘Get Ahead of the Games’ campaign has made no difference to their travel plans during the Olympics.
Londoners say that even with continued weekend engineering works, only 9% of residents claimed that the Olympics had improved transport in London ahead of the Games, according to research from Motors.co.uk.
With millions spent by the Government on its ‘Get Ahead of The Games’ campaign, research conducted by YouGov today reveals that over half of Londoners (56%) have made no alternative travel plans ahead of the Olympics.
The high profile campaign, launched months ago by Transport for London and the Department for Transport, hoped to provide Londoners with information on where and when travel will be affected from the 27th July. However the ‘Get Ahead Of The Games’ campaign has only made the least difference to the core working age group of 25 – 59 year olds it was hoping to target.
YouGov says almost two thirds (64%) of Londoners in this age category stated that the campaign had made ‘no difference’ to their travel plans this summer. Only 1 in 5 (22%) claim to have made allowances in response to the campaign.
On social media, despite the initiatives heavy social media focus and a Twitter following (over 30,000 followers) nearly 6 in 10 Facebook and Twitter users (57% and 58% respectively) said the campaign had made no difference to their Olympic journey plans.
Phill Jones, Commercial Director of Motors.co.uk said “While Londoners are undoubtedly excited about the Olympics, the results reflect that chaos may be looming, as many are unconvinced by the city’s ability to handle additional volumes of people. London’s public transport and road systems are likely to be hubs of bedlam in the coming weeks, as commuters and tourists try to go from A to B. Residents in the capital are long suffering when it comes to transport, and it is clear that the general consensus is that the additional traffic will bring London’s transport infrastructure to its knees causing turmoil in the capital.”
Yesterday travel havoc rocked London's roads as over 250 extra jumbojets and 10,000 extra passengers touched down at Heathrow, many including athletes and officials from Olympic teams. Kerron Clements, a member of the American Olympic team tweeted "Um, so we've been lost on the road for 4hrs. Not a good first impression London" later adding "Athletes are sleepy, hungry and need to pee. Could we get to the Olympic Village please."
Delays caused by accidents on the M4 in Berkshire affected traffic heading towards the Games Lane in west London.
A Highways Agency spokesman denied reports that there had been "32-mile queues". Speaking to the Press Association he said "The delays were a long way from west London and traffic in the area of the Games Lane was no worse than it is on any normal Monday morning."
Worryingly for Get Ahead Of The Games, the Motors.co.uk report found that over a third (38%) of Londoners felt that the games would affect their daily routine on public transport, a price very few were prepared to put up with. Only 23% of Londoners believe that the disruption caused by the games’ is a small price to pay to have this event in the UK". Only 9% of residents believe that the Olympics have improved transport in the capital.
Originally Published 17th July
