British government supports ‘travel differently’ initiative for 2012 London Olympics

By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, August 2, 5:18 PM

LONDON — The British government is urging London residents to “travel differently” during next year’s Olympics to avoid traffic chaos.

An additional three million trips are expected to be made on London’s public transport system on Aug. 3, 2012, the first day of athletics competition and one of the busiest travel days of the games.

That’s on top of the regular 12 million journeys a day on public transportation.

The government wants commuters to change their travel habits to ease the congestion.

Transport Secretary Norman Baker says “it’s time to oil the creaking bike, dig out the walking boots, work out how to use the video conferencing equipment, and fire up the laptop gathering dust at the back of the cupboard.”

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