From The Straits Times    |

Olympics 2012 header

Travel tips for the London OlympicsWith less than a hundred days to go, transport officials in London are busy planning for the 15 million journeys expected to be made in the British capital during the busiest days of the games.

Last week, Transport for London unveiled its map of potential games ‘hot spots’ on specific days, launching an interactive map which can be changed depending on date and time to reveal the busiest stations on the famous London Underground ‘Tube’ network.

Among the stations expected to be worst affected are Oxford Circus, the popular shopping destination in Central London, and the popular tourism hotposts of St Paul’s and London Bridge.

The extra strain an estimated three million more passengers than on an average day is expected to come from games spectators moving around the city, all of whom will be given free transport cards along with their tickets.

Tourists and other visitors who don’t have games tickets will find that their cheapest option is to buy a Visitor Oyster Card, which can be ordered online via the Transport for London website and are sold with a value of £10 (S$20.11) of travel upwards.

The cards can be ordered for international delivery, with queues in London Underground stations during the events expected to be long.

To help plan travel arrangements, a special website for those attending Olympic events has also been made available at travel.london2012.com.

Although special ‘Games Lanes’ are being made available on London’s road for Olympic competitors and officials, officials recommend using public transport to get around rather than by car.

That’s probably for the best given London’s traffic and soaring rental-car demand, with Carrentals.co.uk saying that demand has quadrupled on last year’s figures.

The Olympic Games run from July 27 – August 12, with the Paralympic Games following from August 29 – September 9. — AFP RELAXNEWS