The official rehearsal by the major transport networks to test capacity for the Olympic Games resulted in a widely predicted ordeal for commuters.
Staggering rush hour cues at major stations such as London Bridge and Victoria, many city workers found their journeys made even longer by missed connections, having to walk between stations and even being sent the wrong way by staff contracted to manage the rush! Although the exercise had been advertised well in advance, most London commuters cannot be flexible about their hours and were forced to endure a taste of disruption and delay that promises to be a feature of the next few weeks of the Olympic Games.
Seasoned commuters know only too well that the current transport network can barely cope with the existing rush hour peaks, and with no major upgrades or developments on stream in time for the Games, (a recent pledge to upgrade a major rail artery is promising improvements no earlier than 2014), the added amount of people arriving in London to watch the events is widely expected to stretch services to their limit.
Commuters, already paying a premium for season tickets that include rail, tube and bus, are being told to walk instead to their destinations, and TFL have even produced a number of maps handed out to the early morning rush hour crowds. No mention of a refund is made, and the overground route is made more complicated in many cases with specific areas ‘locked down’ head of the games and out of bounds to the general public.
For businesses, this heralds an unprecedented period of disruption and issues of staff availability as they struggle to get into work on overcrowded and delayed trains and tubes. The official advice of “stay away if possible” simply makes no sense to companies trying to maintain their business and profitability in a recession.
This is where virtual office solution can really make a difference. By adopting a virtual office solution, calls and important mail can be directed to employees wherever they are. A virtual receptionist will field all incoming business calls and post, and in combination with an existing email system even faxes can be sent through. Your office will be ‘manned’ 24/7 and your staff don’t have to waste hours every day battling the transport system to start dealing with their work.
Even better, virtual office packages from W1 Office don’t have to be long-term arrangements. With set-up talking as little as 48 hours and a 1-month notice period, you can get a virtual office set-up running almost immediately to cover your service provision over the Games.

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