A question of sports travel

Around 250,000 sports fans travel into, out of and across London every autumn weekend – causing major congestion and delays on public transport, bringing roads around major stadiums to a standstill and disrupting the lives of local residents.

Our report identifies a number of innovative approaches to stadium travel that have the potential to greatly improve the experiences of fans and local residents both now and during the 2012 Olympics:

• The Mayor should exercise his new planning powers when new or expanded stadiums are being proposed to ensure that transport considerations are taken into account and stadium owners contribute to transport infrastructure investment.
• Integrated ticketing – where the cost of travel within Greater London on the day of the event is included in the price of venue tickets – would cut ticket queues and encourage spectators to use public transport.
• Stadium owners need to develop matchday travel plans- providing fans with more detailed travel information and clear signage to and from their grounds, highlighting the various public transport options available.
• Schemes to encourage fans to walk and cycle to London’s stadiums.
• Park and Ride schemes and coach and shuttle bus services would disperse fans quickly and give them more options to get to and from the ground.
• Transport providers should be consulted before fixture lists are set in order to avoid clashes with engineering works and late fixture changes.

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