Transport for London
Evening Standard Games case study
– making time-sensitive deliveries
With only a short time to go until the start of the London
2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, now is the time for
businesses to begin finalising their preparations.
In addition to the millions of people who live and work in
the Capital, London will be packed with visitors during
the Games. This means that many of the road networks
are likely to be busier than usual.
If your business needs to move around the city, or you
rely on deliveries and freight, you need to make sure that
both you and your business are Games-ready.
Background
The Evening Standard is London’s most widely circulated
quality daily newspaper, with an average distribution of
more than 700,000 copies a day from 300 outlets across
the Capital. As a trusted source of news and information
for the Capital’s commuters, residents and visitors, timely
distribution of the paper during the London 2012 Games is
the highest priority for the paper’s distribution team. Given
the time-sensitive nature of their product – with news
changing constantly, each edition of the paper has
approximately a three to four hour shelf life – the timing of
the deliveries is absolutely critical.
Planning ahead
With all the changes to roads in central London, not to
mention higher footfall and passenger numbers at Tube
stations across the city, the Evening Standard distribution
team understood that early planning would be key to
preparing for Games-time challenges. Using information
provided by Transport for London (TfL), they were aware of
the impact of:
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The Olympic Route Network, Paralympic Route
Network, Games road races and changes to central
London roads on their delivery schedules
Hotspot Tube and rail stations, and changes in
passenger demand on the location and number of
copies available at each distribution point
MAYOR
OF LONDON
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New distribution locations on the delivery scheduling.
For example, Games live sites will accommodate large
numbers of people at certain times, offering
opportunities to reach a wider readership
Busier than usual central London roads on distribution
and storage of papers
While more used to operating to tight deadlines of 48
hours or less, planning for the Games more than a year in
advance meant a new approach was needed.
Working with staff
The Evening Standard’s dedicated team of delivery drivers
are well-acquainted with navigating the Capital’s roads at
busy times. With many drivers boasting 25 years or more
experience, they are experts in reworking routes to avoid
roadworks, traffic bottlenecks and local congestion during
events such as match days at Wembley.
Each driver is responsible for a specific delivery area, for
example, the Charing Cross delivery zone incorporates
Charing Cross, Embankment and Temple. In advance of the
Games, and to help drivers prepare and familiarise
themselves with the proposed Games-time roads changes,
the distribution team has provided them with a detailed
information pack for their area. This pack, compiled using
information from TfL, includes temporary road changes in
that area, as well as event schedules, expected peak times
for passengers at local Tube and rail stations, and
suggested spectator walking routes.
Transport for
London
Equally important is the relationship with the Evening
Standard’s editorial team, as distribution timings are
reliant on editorial deadlines. The distribution team will
need to adopt a flexible approach on a day-by-day basis,
and be able to amend van schedules as needed to react to
changes in expected congestion. They will then need to
communicate this to the editorial team to allow them to
plan news deadlines.
Preparing for changes in demand
As travel patterns are expected to be different to normal
during the Games, with many central London stations
much busier than usual at certain times, the Evening
Standard team has researched and mapped changes in
footfall to allow them to plan for the number of papers
needed at every distribution point. They are also
investigating additional storage options, such as
containers in station car parks, which will allow them to
store newspapers in key locations for onward distribution.
Distribution: flexibility in ‘when, where and
how’
The Evening Standard’s distribution team is working
closely with their vendors and distributors to make sure
copies reach as many readers as possible. With spectators
and visitors spread out in locations additional to the
regular Evening Standard distribution sites, options to
reach these new audiences are being considered. These
include more mobility, distributing newspapers away from
fixed vendor points in areas of high footfall; extending
distribution beyond the normal hours of 16:00 – 19:30 and
reallocating resources (people and papers) to match the
changes in footfall.
Next steps
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Make drivers aware of the TfL interactive roads tool and
Freight Journey Planner to help inform Games-time
planning
Download latest hotspot Tube and National Rail
information at www.getaheadofthegames.com
Encourage drivers to test and familiarise themselves
with suggested delivery routes
Inform drivers of where to find real-time traffic
information during the Games
Identify and finalise storage options