So here we are, just a couple of
days to the end of the Olympics 2012 and the end of restrictions on the river.
Down at DCBT we have had a great
time over the Olympics. For three weeks we played host to trainers from the New
South Wales Institute of Sport, (NSWIS). During the games we shared their
frustrations and they shared our joys as Team GB stormed ahead. One of the
former Hockeyroos admitted that it was difficult not to get emotional when
Jessica Ennis stepped on the podium to collect her gold medal. We always knew
they were closet pommes!
We are now back on track with our core work and 'Learning on the Lee' with our client base.
We are now back on track with our core work and 'Learning on the Lee' with our client base.
One of the big stories of the
Olympics is the possible demise of Water Chariots. They were set up with a mass
of publicity and invested over £3m in the construction of boats to provide the
official water taxi service to the games. They were also awarded a 15 year
contract by BW to provide water taxi services as part of the Lea Valley/Olympic
Park legacy.
When we heard about the numbers
they were supposed to carry on the river – 1,000 per hour, we wondered at the time
where they were going to get these people from. When they finally announced
their prices we knew immediately they were on a looser. After operating on the
River Lee for 28 years we knew how difficult it is to attract custom.
We understand that soon after the
games started the company readjusted their numbers down to 1,000 per day. In
reality we don’t think they did more than a hundred per day. Certainly on the
Tottenham to Old Ford route there we no more than 30 per day. On some days we
never even saw the boats. Once the main Olympics were over we never saw the
boats again.
Needless to say this will have
caused a serious cash flow problem. We now understand the receivers were called
in on Tuesday 4th September.
When the dust settles on this one
it will be interesting to see where the funding came from for this fiasco. Some
of the blogs and discussion boards talk about funding from BW, TFL and ODA.
Other blogs have discussed the possibility of funding being diverted from the
redevelopment of Stonebridge to construct a quay at Tottenham Lock. Although
none of these rumours have been confirmed, it will be interesting to see what
the fall out is
The link to this story can be found below:
