Call Sign: When will we know if London’s bid has been successful and how confident of success are you?
Liz Crawshaw: July 6 this year. I think great strides have been made during the past 6 months and everyone seems to agree that our bid is picking up momentum and is a very strong contender. Even the bid itself has done a lot for the city and has Londoners talking about the Games, the regeneration of London, the transport investment announcements by the Mayor and even local authorities are actually working together!

CS: Do you think that our success in the 2004 Athens Olympics has created an appetite to bring them to London?
LC: Definitely. Moments such as Kelly Holmes golden double, Amir Khan’s boxing silver and the exciting rowing success of Matthew Pinsent are just magic and seeing those types of moments actually take place in London would be just once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.

CS: One of the quotes in the "Driving London Forward" brochure which writes of the Games from a Taxi driver’s perspective, seems to suggest that fleets of cars rather than Taxis will be used during the Games for those involved. Whilst it also claims that a London Olympic Games would bring in thousands of extra visitors during that August – a notoriously quiet month – and making it very busy in general, why are we talking about cars rather than Taxis when we have the most ultra-professional Taxi service in the world?
LC: To be honest, until we know whether the bid has been accepted we can’t even think about who will be doing what. But imagine if an athlete who had trained for years for this specific moment turned up 10 minutes late for their event because they couldn’t find a cab! So, yes, there will have to be contract work for the Games, but that contract work could equally be tendered for by Dial-a-Cab, for example. It is also worth pointing out that within the Olympic Park itself, there will be no transport and people will be walking.

Call Sign Speaks to Head of London Communications 2012, Liz Crawshaw...

CS: Call Sign published a letter last year from a Sydney taxi driver who said that during the 2000 Games, those with tickets to the events also had free transport included. Will that happen here?
LC: Yes, those with a ticket to the Olympics will be allocated free transport, but remember that these Games plus the Paralympic Games – the second largest sporting event in the world – will bring in huge amounts of visitors. The Paralympics especially will see London’s accessible Taxi fleet with probably as much work as it can handle.

CS: That sounds as though we will be allocated the wheelchair work while cars will be getting the able-bodied passengers. Naturally, we don’t mind wheelchair users, but one after the other could put a strain on older drivers. We should have access to both groups of users?
LC: There will be more than enough work of all types for everybody. As for allocated work, as I said earlier, nothing can be finalised until the result of the bid on 6 July.

CS: Can you tell me about the Olympic Route Network? This sounds ominous for the Taxi trade and its current inclusion within TfL’s bus lanes…
LC: Not everyone taking part in the 2012 Olympics will be staying in the Olympic Village and many will need to travel from London hotels to their particular events. These people will be given their own priority lanes known as Olympic Route Networks. These will not cover the whole of London, just some specific routes. However, we have been assured that Taxis will not be excluded from bus lanes due to ORNs. I have actually raised that question with Hugh Sumner, TfL’s Head of Olympic Transport. Requirements from the IOC dictate that type of Olympic Route will be needed, but actual specifics as to how it will be implemented have not yet been discussed, but Taxis being able to use those routes will be discussed. But as I’ve said, they will not interfere with your use of bus lanes.

CS: I’d like to see a special cab trade committee set up now so as to place our stake in the ground and to make sure that we are consulted about transport decisions involving Taxis. As Dial-a-Cab have now come out in favour of the bid and I believe have placed that fact on the top of their customer invoices, perhaps someone like Brian Rice could be ideal to lead it?
LC: The idea sounds fine to me. We have had many companies coming forward to offer sponsorship and we thank DaC for their support.

CS: Transport infrastructure in 2012. Will there be any!
LC: If you look at Stratford Station which will be in a prime position for the Games, there will be a regular bullet train going from the St Pancras Euro-link to Stratford in 7 minutes…

CS: That’s what I meant about having a Taxi Committee with access to the Games transport department. Thousands will exit Stratford and look for a Taxi only to find a rank for 7 or 8 cabs. We are the people who know what is needed when it comes to Taxi transport?
LC: I agree and post-July, if our bid is successful, then events leading towards 2012 will start to be formulated. I also think that companies such as Dial-a-Cab becoming involved with the bid - such as by your invoice headings - and showing your support now, that can only go in your favour.

CS: You know Mayor Ken well, does he envisage still being Mayor in 2012?
LC: Well, all I can say is that Ken loves London and would love to be there forever!

CS: If we fail for 2012, surely we could just bid again?
LC: I believe that this will probably be the last time in our lifetimes that we will be bidding for the Games, because by the next opportunity the land in East London that is currently available for use towards the Games and many various developments afterwards, will have gone.

CS: Thank you Liz and good luck for 6 July…