I
thought I'd throw my opinion out there on the transport system for
the London 2012 Olympics in today's blog post. First and
foremost, I think on paper the transport ideas sound like a great idea. The
whole idea of making it easier for people to access the events of London 2012
and the Paralympic games economically should be a very sound move. Bear in mind
when reading that prior to the Olympics, the games were expected to boost the
economy in the short term and the long term. Now that such data has appeared
that seems to suggest the Olympics haven’t really achieved that much
economically - can we partly blame the transport system?
Mervyn
King was reported to have told the Daily Mail that the "the happiness
won't last long..." in regards to the short term economic surge caused by
the Olympics. More about this story can be read by
clicking here. Therefore, economically the consensus is that the games
haven't achieved that much, despite the years of planning and millions of
pounds of investment. Obviously I understand that nothing can be predicted
accurately at this stage, so time may prove Meryvn wrong - which is what we all
hope. I think the fact Meryvn has gone so publically with this negative outlook
is disgusting, as if there isn't enough bad economic news around as it is. I
know people will argue that we have a right to know about these things,
but I'd say most people already don't expect much in the next few
years economically and the fact that Mervyn has just confirmed this will not
install confidence in anyone. The doom and gloom merchants need to
keep some of their thoughts to themselves!
I'd
like to look at both the London Underground system and the Olympic driving
lanes in this debate as these are two of the Olympic transport policies that I
have experienced during the games. Firstly, the London Underground. I
encountered this at peak time in the middle of the games and I have nothing but
praise for the planners. It was seamless, I made a trip into Waterloo and from
there I had to get the Victoria Line and then the Northern line through to
London Kings Cross. Bearing in mind this was at peak time, so I was expecting
crowds of workers as well as Olympic go-ers, I was pleasantly surprised.
Everything ran smoothly - I was on and off the Underground painlessly and I have
nothing but praise for the. The return journey, also a peak time (the evening
this time), was seamless as well. I experienced it twice during the games at
peak times and I thought it was great, obviously there will be people who used
it a lot more and saw a lot more that went on, but on the whole I think it ran
smoothly. Therefore, economically I think the investment that went into the
London Underground was very beneficial and justified. Not only were workers in
London still able to get to work on time but the extra travellers heading to
the games were also catered for and this can only have benefited the economy.
My problem occurs when it comes to the Olympic lanes...
The
few times I encountered the Olympic driving lanes were around 10 - 11 am. I
wasn't heading to the games so therefore I was in the 'normal' lane, queuing,
whilst watching the empty lane next to me remain... empty. One occasion, on
route to Staines, it took me 25 minutes to travel a mile as all the traffic had
to bottleneck into one lane, all whilst a perfectly fine lane lay empty next to
me. During those 25 minutes the Olympic lane wasn't used once. This was beyond
frustrating, this lane seemed redundant during this time, a waste of space
even, yet we couldn't use it and had to queue up in traffic - delaying arrivals
to our destinations. Infrastructure is always a big point in the economy, and
in my opinion I think this is evidence of it failing. The lanes were
unnecessary during the Olympic sessions and should have been opened
to all traffic. Already, according to the Daily
Mail, Londoners waste 66 hours a year stuck in traffic. 66 hours that could
be spent working, benefiting the economy. Turning normal lanes into
these Olympic lanes is only going to have added to this figure and that is no
way to benefit the economy when we're in a rocky situation. In my opinion, the
Olympic lanes weren't thought out too well and didn't function efficiently -
but, what is my opinion worth anyway?
I'd
like to conclude by saying that I think the Olympics will be successful
economically for us. The sense of national pride and 'togetherness' that seemed
to shine during the games surely has to have some effect! The London
Underground, like I said, was very good during the games but the Olympic lanes
let the transport system down. I'd like to hear other people's opinions on the
situation, though. So, what are your thoughts on the Olympic transport policies
and how do you think they've affected the economy?
Thanks
for reading guys, stay tuned.
Sam.
(@TutorEconomics)
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