As the 2012 Olympics draws nearer, here at Sussex Transport we are already planning how to deal with deliveries that may be affected by the additional traffic on the roads around the various sites of the games.
If newspapers are to be believed, it is thought that London will be brought to a standstill in the summer of 2012 and the haulage industry is set to lose out on millions of pounds due to congested roads.
Already the industry is struggling to survive as rising fuel costs put a massive strain on businesses and some hauliers have admitted that the Olympics will not help their cause at all.
Damian Pulford, MD of Sussex Transport which operates more than 20 vehicles in and around the south of England, comments, “what else can TFL do, they have few options available, at least they are proactive in forward planning and notifying us of the potential issues ahead. We all just have to try that bit harder, vehicles will take alternative routes where possible, drivers will depart earlier than normal, night time running where possible, whilst upping our customer service endeavouring to communicate with our customers and keeping them up to date with delivery status. We should all embrace the Olympics, cant wait!!!!
Transport for London (TfL) has planned designated Olympic Route Networks to cater for Olympic traffic. These include parts of the A12 and A13, both key routes from Felixstowe to London and the south-east.
In addition, some traffic lanes will be closed to non-Olympic traffic before certain events, including a stretch of the A12.
TfL said it had been working with transport companies and offering suggestions as to how to ease congestion, for example through night deliveries.
“We are all quite sure it is going to be busy,” acknowledged a spokeswoman. “But we are doing a lot of work with freight businesses and haulage companies and making suggestions, such as delivering at night. There are a range of things on offer, but companies may just have to work differently during that period.”
Sussex Transport are determined not to let the Olympics affect the standard of their service and can assure their customers that they are already contingency planning for the 2012 games!
