A view of the Tower Bridge in London, Britain, on July 23, 2012. (Xinhua/Li Ga)

Transport headaches

Apart from the awful weather, London's transport system may be another headache for visitors.

Recent delays on the capital's underground rail system, coupled with breakdowns, have fueled concerns about the impact the 3 million daily journeys could have on the roads and the "Tube", as the underground railway is known to locals.

On July 15, a coach carrying US Olympic athletes took four hours for the journey from Heathrow airport to the Olympic village in east London's Stratford. Then on July 17, a fire alarm at Charing Cross station caused the complete breakdown of one underground line and severe delays on all other lines.

Adding to the inconvenience, members of the rail union Aslef will go on strike between August 6 and 8, in a dispute over pensions. The industrial action is likely to affect those traveling into London from places such as Sheffield, Wolverhampton and Derby.

London's bus drivers had also threatened to strike because of the increased workload engendered by the Games, but the situation was resolved when the drivers accepted a bonus of 27.50 pounds ($43) per shift for the duration of the event.

A day after that agreement was struck, Danny Boyle was told to shorten his 27-million-pound opening ceremony, as the organizers fretted about spectators being left without transport home if the event were to run too long.

During the years leading up to the Games, Transport for London has extended London Overground's East London Line and upgraded facilities on the Docklands Light Railway and the North London Line.

High-speed Javelin trains have been added to carry passengers from St Pancras and Ebbsfleet to Stratford station, which is situated within the Olympic Park.

Cable cars have been added between the O2 Arena on the banks of the Thames and the ExCel Exhibition Center in east London, linking two Olympic hot spots. Traveling 160 feet above the river, the cars are expected to carry 2,500 passengers an hour.

One pledge made in London's Olympic bid was that most of the competitors would be based within 20 minutes traveling time of their events. To fulfill that promise, some lanes on selected roads will be barred to all but athletes, officials and VIPs. Meanwhile, traffic lights on 13,000 streets have been reprogrammed to speed up the vehicle flow.

However, 200 taxis clogged Parliament Square in protest at the Olympic lanes last week, and angry motorists in Wandsworth in the southwest of the city, reported that the reprogramming of the lights has caused massive delays.

Even if no transport dramas occur, the Games will certainly bring a high level of inconvenience to London's commuters. In response, Transport for London has encouraged people to work from home and hold discussions by video conference instead of traveling to meetings.

LOCOG has also invested more than 10 million pounds to improve a network of eight pedestrian and cycling routes that link different parts of the capital with the Olympic Park.

Mayor Boris Johnson said at a news briefing on July 16 that the media headlines about traffic chaos have been greatly exaggerated and that London is ready for the Games.

"BoJo", as the mayor is known, has carefully cultivated a buffoonish persona and can always be relied upon to make light of difficult situations. However, he is clued up enough to realize that he and LOCOG must get it right to prevent the "Greenest Olympics" from leaving a lot of red faces.