Commercial property firms in London may not yet have adequately prepared for the Olympics, and it could end up costing them millions. MWB Business Exchange today released a study of 430 companies in London’s travel hotspots which claims that, due to inadequate planning regarding travel contingency plans, could end up costing Britain’s frail economy billions of pounds.
Although 20 million extra train and tube trips will be run during the Olympic period, commercial property workers in particularly congested areas may find their usual method of getting to work is not viable during the 17 days, as the city’s transport system will be forced to cope with multiple times the number of passengers in an average day. As such, workers could be delayed getting to their commercial property, if indeed they make it in at all.
As for the roads, the situation cannot be said to be much better. Heavy congestion is likely, as people will be travelling to London from all over the world, and UK residents, as well as some from mainland Europe, may choose to drive instead of facing the hectic public transport situation. For example, visitors to the Capital from cities such as Manchester, Glasgow and Birmingham could well decide to drive rather than pay inflated costs to take the train to see their chosen Olympic events.
Additionally, designated “Olympic lanes” have been created to ferry some athletes and VIPs between the commercial properties that the events will take place in – which of course will cause extra frustration for those sitting in traffic jams. This has already proven controversial, with many workers in commercial properties furious that they will not be able to get to work easily while those associated with the Olympics will simply glide from event to event.
The study found that a third of City of London commercial property businesses had made no backup plans should their staff struggle to get in to work, and only one in ten were considering allowing their staff to work from home until the hubbub died down. This is despite the fact that 89 per cent of CEOs questioned as part of the survey believed the Olympics would affect their business, whether this be through staff difficulties in getting to work or business hours being disrupted.
However, businesses are being given time to prepare themselves and revise any plans they have for working practise over the course of the Games. A London-wide stress test began on Tuesday, only 80 days before the Olympics. Organised jointly by Canary Wharf Group and Deloitte, it will last for a week and include measures such as allowing commercial property staff to work from home, test different travel methods and work flexible hours to avoid peak travelling hours.
Head of Olympics research for MWB, Kathryn Hurt, believes these measures may not be enough, however. She says; “We’ve been calling on companies to stress-test their systems for months. Now with just 80 days to go, businesses are slowly waking up to the fact that they need to prepare. But it could be too little, too late.
“Our survey shows that many London businesses are sleepwalking into a potential work nightmare. Businesses who have not thought about it are really going to be hit the hardest.”
Of course, Britons are no strangers to disruption to transport causing them difficulties on their commute to commercial properties. In recent years, weather has caused no end to public transport disruption, especially in winter. However, as Kathryn Hurt points out, any financial losses on days such as these can be expected to be multiplied during the summer Games.
“During snowday in February, £1bn was lost from the economy. Now times that by the 17 days of the Olympics, and you can see the potential hit UK plc could take.”
Do you live or work in London? Are you concerned about getting to your commercial property workplace during the Olympics, or does your business have contingency plans in place?
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