Client Situation

Our client was facing significant challenges in planning its transport operations for a major multi-sport event. Nine months prior to the opening ceremony, planning of the respective transport systems for Athletes, accredited Media, Technical Officials and Games Officials was not initiated. There was also uncertainty around the procurement of car fleet resources, while planning for spectator transport was limited, mainly due to the absence of demand estimates. Coordination with internal and external stakeholders was poor and the evolvement of transport organization was very slow. The client turned to us for technical support across all programs of its transport area.

The way to problem solving

Our team worked with the client using its previous multi-sport event experiences, suitably adapted to the challenges of the local transport and cultural environment. Our targeted advisory services covered the following key transport areas:

• Bus services to Athletes, accredited Media and Technical Officials
• Limousine and taxi-like services to Games Officials
• Venue transport planning
• Spectator transport planning
• Games route network and traffic management measures
• Transport governance and organisation
• Overall transport planning till Games time - Issue prioritization

Examples of our technical work that had a strong influence on our client and improved radically its expected performance included:

• Agreement on the implementation of exclusive traffic lanes for the event's clients
• Development of bus service specifications for the transport systems of Athletes, accredited Media and Technical Officials
• Transfer of knowledge for the main operational concepts of car fleet services for the Games Officials
• Provision of expert support in depot master planning and in venue transport operations
• Decision to use the city's metro system as the spine of the spectator transport network
• Development of a spectator demand model and guidance provided for the analysis of capacity vs demand for the city transport systems
• Design of the access and parking permit scheme to event venues for the accredited vehicles
• Guidance on the special transport arrangements for the Opening Ceremony.

But above all, our contribution was vital in mobilizing both the internal resources of the Organizing Committee and the transport delivery partners of the external environment. Six months before the event, a clear allocation of roles and responsibilities was achieved, communicated and in place. At the same time, interactions and knowledge exchange among team members were improved.

Impact

In a challenging city (and business) environment, the client managed to deliver transport services up to standards, greatly appreciated by the majority of clients. The city and the Organizing Committee achieved this outcome by a) capitalizing on our advisory services, which provided a robust foundation for the detailed operational planning and b) committing the required human resources and physical assets.

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