London 2012’s festive legacy as Travel Ambassadors return

Tim Dickens
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
11:19 AM

The Olympic legacy has turned festive in the run-up to Christmas, as TfL’s “magenta army” return to the front line to help make the network run more smoothly.

More than 100 Travel Ambassadors, chosen for the Olympics, will give up their normal jobs within TfL to give passengers directions at stations in the West End and around Hyde Park.

Engineering work and a Boxing Day strike by Tube drivers will combine with sales shoppers and tourists over the holiday period, putting buses, Tubes and trains under serious pressure.

Nigel Holness, from London Underground, said: “Our Travel Ambassadors were heralded as a fantastic success during the Games for the warm welcome they gave to visitors from across the globe and their breadth of knowledge about London’s transport system.

“Our front-line staff work really hard to ensure that customers are given all the information they need to make their journeys quickly and easily, but having some extra help from the Travel Ambassadors during the busy festive period will give visitors an even better level of service and demonstrates our commitment to providing excellent customer care.”

The Ambassadors will be issued with hand-held devices to get real-time updates on travel problems.