March 2008
Carrying A Torch For A Greener 2012
What was to be the first car-free Olympics in the history of the Games took a farcical turn earlier this month.
The 2012 Olympics in London have been marketed as being "the greenest ever", with London transport bodies working to find new and innovative solutions for transporting thousands of athletes and millions of spectators around a transport system that is already stretched to capacity. However, the International Olympic Committee has seriously undermined these green credentials with a demand for more than 3,000 chauffeur driven cars for officials, dignitaries and corporate sponsors. In addition to this, there has been the call for a network of dedicated lanes which will be closed to other traffic for around two months, as well as the re-phasing of up to 3,000 sets of traffic lights to ensure "stress-free access" to all the Olympic venues. The question posed by critics is "stress-free for whom?"
Whilst the 10,500 athletes competing in the games will travel on a fleet of coaches run as a shuttle service between the Olympic village and sporting venues, only a select group of VIPs will be able to enjoy the car service, with 110 IOC members, 400 Presidents and secretary-generals from the competing nations, and 450 senior executives from corporate sponsors included on the list. None of the expected 8 million spectators will be able to drive during the Games, save for a handful of special cases.
The IOC has declared that the cars are needed to allow their officials to "move from venue to venue, often at short notice", but have failed to explain why the VIPs could not take the shuttle service, which would operate every few minutes between all the major Olympic sites, including the delegates’ hotels. The London 2012 Organising Committee has acknowledged this issue, but stated that it was powerless to make VIPs use the service.
This point of contention is unlikely to be resolved any time soon, as it become apparent that the requirement for a fleet of VIP cars was part of the IOC’s contract with London. Furthermore, members of the London Assembly who have taken issue with what they see as a "perk" rather than a necessity, have been told that they may only read the contract after signing a legal agreement not to speak about its contents.
Green Party member of the London Assembly Jenny Jones attacked the requirement as "outrageous", continuing: "I am appalled that so many bigwigs will be chauffeured around on dedicated lanes when there is going to be a superb public transport service as well as a special coach service. It is against the whole spirit of the Games, which is meant to be the greenest ever."
Dee Doocey, chairperson of the London Assembly committee that scrutinises the Olympics, also voiced objections: "You can’t tell Londoners to travel by public transport, yet at the same time kick them off their roads so that VIPs can be whisked around in chauffeur-driven limousines. This is one rule for the haves, and another for the have-nots."
Whilst Ken Livingston has made clear that he would use public transport during the Games, organisers are looking into mitigating the effect of the car fleet if the IOC refused to compromise on the issue, with potential sponsors for the scheme including Toyota, producers of the Prius hybrid car.
The Mayor also conceded that certain officials would need to carry equipment between venues, and as such may need to use cars, but rejected the "bizarre" situation in Athens where "each member of the IOC in their car was followed by armed police in another car". And although Mr Livingston has promised to raise the question with Jacques Rogge, President of the IOC, this will not be done until after the Beijing Olympics this summer.
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