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Olympics News Desk
The Department of Transport has asked civil servants to work from home during the Olympic Games in order to avoid a collapse of the public transport. Staff across Whitehall and the public sector will carry out a home-work programme from the 6 February to 9 February, as a part of a training and simulation. Government is concerned about the capacity of the London public transport network this summer, with up to 800,000 spectators and 55,000 competitors, officials, workers and journalists will travel to and from Olympic venues every day.
An estimated three million journeys are expected durign the London Olympics. The Department of Transport has set up the first part of three planned sessions, asking civil servants to work from home from February 6 to 9. The training is a part of “Operation Stepchange”, a programme set up to avoid problems in the public transport system. Civil officers will have to work from home from the week before the Games in July to the close of Paralympics in September.
The Department of Transport has also asked commuters to “try different routes; stagger their journey times; work remotely; or use video conferencing for meetings”.
Hugh Robertson, the minister for sport and the Olympics, praised the initiative in a report in The Daily Telegraph said: “by thinking creatively and adjusting travel patterns next summer, we can ensure that everybody gets to their destination and London keeps moving”.
Reporting by Paula Planelles
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