Memorandum submitted by the New Millennium
Experience Company
TRANSPORT AND TRAVEL PACKAGES
INTRODUCTION
The terms of reference for the Culture Media
and Sport Committee's fifth inquiry include examination of "transport
to the Millennium Dome".
This written memorandum deals with transport
and with travel and Dome entry packages in which the Committee
has previously expressed interest.
TRANSPORT STRATEGY
All the essential elements of the transport
strategy, details of which the Committee has received during its
previous inquiries, were in place when the Dome opened to the
public on 1 January. In practice the strategy has generally been
very successful. The vast majority of visitors are using public
transport and are finding the Dome easy to get to. The importance
of the Jubilee Line as the principal carrier of visitors has been
confirmed and the "no car" message has been heeded.
MODE CHOICE
The estimates of mode choice for the main part
of the journey are derived from visitor admission numbers (including
separate pier admissions), usage of park and ride facilities,
and numbers of coaches and Orange Badge holders using the facilities
at the Dome, with assumptions made about average loads. For journeys
involving a mode change in London, the last mode is counted. London
Transport has information about use of the Jubilee Line and North
Greenwich Interchange from which Dome visitor usage can be extrapolated.
MORI surveys since the Dome opened have provided further information
about visitor travel, which has informed the mode choice estimates.
The most notable difference in the overall estimates
of mode choice pre- and post-Dome opening is the much lower use
of park and ride. The principal modes are dealt with in more detail
in the following paragraphs.
TUBE
The JLE has proved a hugely popular way of travelling
to the Dome in terms of numbers carried and enjoyment. At weekends
and school holidays it can deliver over 70 per cent of visitors
which is significantly higher than expected. This proportion reduces
during the school week because coach is the predominant mode for
free school trips, giving an average usage similar to that forecast.
The Millennium LT Card is proving very popular and the Dome Ticket
Line alone has sold around 20,000. However, JLE signalling problems
have continued during the first quarter of the Dome's operation.
If short-lived, the disruption to visitors is minimal. The fleet
of contingency buses can mitigate the effects of more significant
disruptions but there have been a small number of occasions when
visitors to the Dome have been seriously inconvenienced. LT is
providing more detailed evidence to the Committee on the performance
of the JLE. Day-to-day operational contracts between NMEC and
LT are working well.
RIVER
Another popular way of travelling to the Dome,
especially at weekends. River travel is traditionally seasonal
and the current 6 per cent proportion of visitors carried since
the Dome opened is expected to rise. Both City Cruises and White
Horse Fast Ferries have adapted their timetables by varying the
frequency of services to match levels of visitor demand and are
keeping their services under review. Charter boats are popular
for large groups.
RAIL
Rail was always expected to be the most popular
choice for visitors travelling from outside London for a Dome
visit, as it is for most London based leisure activities. The
MORI surveys suggest over 25 per cent of visitors used rail for
the first part of their journey to the Dome but this does not
include those using rail and staying overnight in London. Information
on some of the excellent Dome packages available to visitors is
set out below. However, the proportion of visitors using rail
as their last leg travel to Charlton with the Transit Link to
the Dome has been lower than expected. The new daytime service
from Victoria to Charlton has suffered from a lack of drivers
but is being re-launched in the May timetable to operate for longer
hours each day with two stops on the way to Charlton.
COACH
Coach is the principal mode of choice for school
parties and groups. Again there is information on some of the
very good value Dome travel packages available from coach companies
below. The coach park at the Dome has been well used (an average
of 3,860 per month) with the numbers of coaches almost doubling
on days with free school trips. This is reflected in an average
usage that is higher than forecast.
CAR
The Dome opened with three park and ride sites
in operation—at Wembley, Stratford and Woolwich—with
a view to supplementing the capacity as necessary in line with
demand. Usage has been significantly lower than expected. The
MORI surveys suggest that the proportion of visitors using cars
for any part of the journey is around 15 per cent. This is encouragingly
low and suggests that, as with most leisure journeys by car into
London, people drive to a convenient location such as the tube
or rail station and continue their journeys from there. There
is some evidence of increased usage of LUL car parks at the outer
edge of the tube network. There is no evidence that visitors are
driving to Greenwich to park in any numbers.
Wembley and Stratford together have a current
usage that is less than half that of Woolwich—very often
only single figures of cars are parked at these sites. The continued
use of these sites is under discussion with LB Greenwich. The
higher use of Woolwich is still significantly lower than capacity
on most days but its relative popularity was expected given the
lack of direct access to the tube network in the South East. Cars
that arrive at the Dome unaware that they cannot park are now
directed to Woolwich and pay on arrival. This is sensible operationally
and given the low numbers has not raised traffic issues. On one
or two occasions at the weekend numbers have been higher so signage
is being improved on the Dome approaches to direct cars to Woolwich.
GOOD VALUE
DOME PACKAGES
AND TRANSPORT
The New Millennium Experience Company's Travel
Trade team at the Dome is working very closely with a wide range
of tour and transport operators to provide easily accessible and
good value packages to the Dome. Individual operators have brochured
and promoted the Dome deals through a variety of marketing channels,
and NMEC has supported these initiatives by collaborative marketing
and a series of ads in regional papers.
Current research indicates that 34 per cent
of visitors to the Dome come from outside the London region (twice
the average in comparison with other London attractions). This
suggests ease of access to the Dome by public transport.
At May, bookings of combined Dome ticket and
train packages through Train Operating Companies are between 300
and 600 per day and are increasing steadily as the year progresses.
While the majority of bookings are within the Dome's main catchment
area, bookings are being received from around the country. On
a typical day, as a snapshot, there were 37 bookings recorded
from one station in the North East (Chester le Street) and other
bookings from every region of the country, including Scotland
and Wales. In the month from mid-February to mid-March, for example,
sales of Dome and train combined packages were recorded via every
Train Operating Company's stations or call-centres, from Scotland
to the Isle of Wight. Trends indicate that sales are particularly
strong from the East Midlands and areas covered by Midland Mainline
and East Anglia.
Special promotions incorporating combined Dome
ticket and coach travel through National Express are currently
taking place in a number of regions and the first results of these
will be known in the next few weeks. As an example, one limited
period offer in East Anglia resulted in over 250 extra sales within
its first two weeks—a significant amount considering that
this is an example being duplicated throughout the country. Anecdotal
evidence suggests that National Express sales are increasing steadily
and again indicate a good regional spread; for instance, we are
told that many people in the North East of England are taking
advantage of the £29.99 combined travel offer.
A selection of packages currently available
is given below:
From Scotland
Coach from £29.99 from anywhere in Scotland
served by Scottish City Link/National Express (return coach to
Victoria Coach Station and Dome entrance; available for travel
on any Tuesday or Wednesday).
Train from £89 for four people from Edinburgh
to North Greenwich return (travel only—GNER).
Train from £29 from Glasgow to Euston return
(travel only—Virgin Trains).
Train from £86.50 for two adults and three
children from Glasgow to North Greenwich return for family with
family railcard (travel only—GNER).
Train from £33.50 from Glasgow to North
Greenwich (travel only—Scotrail).
Short break from anywhere in Scotland to North
Greenwich from £159 (includes Dome entrance, two nights B&B
and return travel (Scotrail).
From Wales
Coach from £29.99 from anywhere in Wales
served by National Express (return coach to Victoria Station and
Dome entrance; available for travel any Tuesday and Wednesday).
Train from £52.90 for two adults and three
children from Cardiff to North Greenwich return with family railcard)
travel only—First Great Western).
Train from £55.50 for two adults and three
children from Swansea to North Greenwich return with family railcard
(travel only—First Great Western).
From Birmingham
Coach from £27 (includes day return coach
to Victoria Station any day and Dome entrance).
Train from £29.40 (Dome and rail Monday
to Friday—Silverlink).
Train from £40 for four travellers (rail
only—Virgin Trains).
Train from £34 for two adults and two children
(rail only—Chiltern Railways).
From Manchester
Coach £30 (includes day return coach to
Victoria Station any day and Dome entrance).
Train from £20 (train only—Virgin
Trains).
From Liverpool
Coach £30 (includes day return coach to
Victoria Station any day and Dome entrance).
Train from £50 for four people (train return
to Euston—Virgin Trains).
From Northern Ireland
Day trip from £119 adult, £89 child
(includes return flights from Belfast International and Dome entrance—Just
Cities).
Overnight flight package from £189 adult,
£89 child (includes return flight from Belfast International,
two night B&B in central London hotel and Dome entrance).
Overnight coach package from £149 adult,
£89 child (includes return coach travel, two nights in central
London and Dome entrance—Just Cities).
From Nottingham and Sheffield
Train from £38 (includes return train and
tube fair and Dome entrance—Midland Mainline).
From Newcastle
Train from £84 for four people (includes
train and tube to North Greenwich—GNER).
From Leeds
Train from £65 for four people (train and
tube to North Greenwich—GNER).
From Bristol
Train from £44.30 for two adults and three
children with Family Railcard (includes train and tube to North
Greenwich).
TRAIN PROMOTIONS
In addition to the above sample fares, the train
operating companies are running a series of special promotional
fares for time limited periods. These include the Dome admission
and are being promoted by the TOCs through regional papers, door
drops, direct mail and through stations. Examples include:
— From Norwich—train, tube and
Dome—£30.50 adult; £12.50 child—Anglia.
— From Colchester—train, tube
and Dome—£26 adult; £16 child—Anglia.
— From West Midlands—train, tube
and Dome—£26 adult—Virgin.
— From stations in Midlands—train,
tube and Dome—adult £30.50; child £16.50—Midland
Mainline.
— From Milton Keynes—train, tube
and Dome—£24.80 —Silverlink.
SHORT BREAK
PACKAGES
Sample packages given below. Transport can be
included as required:
— Overnight in three star central London
hotel with breakfast and return riverboat from £59.50 (Superbreak).
— Overnight in one star central London
hotel with breakfast and Dome entrance from £44 (Rainbow).
— Overnight in two star central London
hotel with breakfast and Dome entrance from £50 (Crystal).
— Overnight in three star central London
hotel with breakfast and Dome entrance from £66 (Sunvil).
— Overnight in one star central London
hotel with breakfast from £68 (Embassy Leisure Breaks).
— Overnight in three star central London
hotel with breakfast and Dome entrance from £57 (Highlife
Breaks).
OTHER COACH
COMPANIES/OPERATORS
In addition coach companies are running home
to Dome day trips on a regular basis—these all offer excellent
value for money with an all-inclusive price for Dome and travel.
This is a popular and affordable way to travel—in particular
for school and senior groups within day trip distance. Operators
offer packages including travel and/or accommodation eg the Miller
Academy Primary School from Thurso, Highland Region, the most
northerly mainland school to visit the Dome so far, who travelled
with Top Class Travel on a five day Millennium tour to London,
costing £205 per person, which included all travel, accommodation
and Dome entry costs.
June 2000
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