Olympic Lanes Essay

361 Words2 Pages
Discuss the implications of the introduction of the Olympic lanes The Olympic Games Lanes were road restrictions put in place for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. The lanes are open to athletes and officials in order to provide reliable transport and prevent delays to events. However, the lanes imposed negative externalities, costs to the third party. There was an increase in congestion on the roads on and around Olympic routes, causing delays to commuters. Some may be commuting to work and delays may lower productivity. However, the Olympic lanes have been beneficial to the economy. With delays and changes well communicated to the public, commuters may have decided to use public transport such tubes and trains more frequently to ‘Get ahead of the games’ – the slogan for transport disruption adverts. More use of public services increases tax revenue for the government. As the UK economy is experiencing a budget deficit, this increase in tax revenue decreases the deficit and the government may then have to borrow less money to finance the difference. Also, decreasing the amount of people using cars momentarily may lead to commuters who previously drove cars to adopt a change in transport choice. This not only increases tax revenue, but also decreases the social environmental costs of people driving cars. This reduces pollution at a lesser cost than large campaigns. The reveal of the plans for the Olympic lanes was controversial and led to protests led by taxi drivers infuriated that they were unable to use the lanes. The protests caused further delays, produced noise pollution and policing was necessary to keep the protest peaceful, costing the government. However, the introduction of Olympic lanes does have social benefits. For example, additional jobs are created, thus increasing employment levels –a constant macroeconomic government objective.
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