London traffic moving fine, at least for now

7/31/2012
ASSOCIATED PRESS

LONDON — Here’s a pleasant surprise for Londoners who were fearing the worst: So far the traffic is flowing fine despite the pressure of the Olympic games.

Although some lanes on major thoroughfares are reserved for Olympic VIPs, most major roads are still working well for commuters. Officials say the volume of traffic has dropped by about 20 percent, easing congestion that might have been caused by the special “Games Lanes.”

Mick Savage, the U.K. director of the firm Trafficmaster, says many people are heeding government advice and staying away from central London. He also says traffic is lighter because of U.K. school holidays.

London’s entire transit network handles an average of 12 million trips a day — and that’s expected to swell to 15 million trips a day during the Olympics.