Delivering London 2012: Transport operations delivery

The scope of transport operations during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games was the most demanding that London's transport network has ever had to meet. Transport services in London carried 800 000 additional journeys on the busiest day at the Park. All while meeting the informal objective that ‘sport – not transport' dominated the headlines. The UK Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) approach focused on minimum intervention overlaid with a bespoke holistic programme of service and infrastructure enhancements which allowed the numerous transport operators involved to adapt to play their part in delivery of transport for the games, without disrupting their established processes and ongoing responsibilities. The scale of the challenge and the necessity to ensure an integrated approach makes this work both significant and noteworthy. This paper explores the process and sets out the key lessons learned.