Olympic transport strategy will be “catalyst for change”

By Paul Carter

Olympic organisers have unveiled their accessible transport strategy for the London 2012 Games, which they say will act as the “catalyst for change” for transport in the capital for disabled people.

Plans featured in the document include providing a mobility service at all venues, improving accessibility to existing public transport options and providing dedicated blue badge parking spaces.

But there was a lack of detail in the strategy and a number of question-marks remain over how the service will work.

Disability Now has previously reported on concerns over the distance from the proposed accessible parking areas to the venue entrances, and what form the Game’s mobility service would take.

An Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) spokeswoman told us there was still “work in progress” with regards to the mobility service, and “nothing more concrete on it other than what is in the strategy”.

But it was confirmed that there will be approximately 550 blue badge parking spaces available at the Olympic Park.

Elsewhere in the strategy are plans to create a map of accessible transport, which will highlight the accessible elements of buses, railways, tube and door-to-door services.

Hugh Sumner, the Olympic Delivery Authority’s director of transport, said one of the key aims of the strategy was to provide accessible transport to everyone travelling to the games.

He said: “This new network will enable passengers to discover, in fine detail, service levels and provision of facilities on all modes – enabling personal journey plans tailored to individual needs.”

London mayor Boris Johnson said: “London is a world-class city and deserves world-class transport. The 2012 Olympic Games gives us a deadline to deliver the necessary changes, on top of what we are already achieving, and the Paralympic Games will help us focus on making the network more accessible for those who find travelling in the capital difficult.

“The plans being put forward today by the ODA and LOCOG (the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games) underline my commitment as mayor to making sure that all Londoners and visitors have the same opportunity to access and enjoy the Games.”

ODA figures suggest that seven per cent of visitors to the Games may have difficulty using stairs or escalators, with a further one per cent unable to use them at all, meaning that as many as 23,000 people may need to use accessible transport services on the busiest days of competition.