Overseas media complain of travel debacles

["David Lindstrom" <D_Lindstrom@Bigpond.com>]

Overseas media complain of travel debacles

By GREG GROWDEN
SYDNEY
Friday 8 September 2000

The international media, irate that Sydney Olympics trains and
buses are a near extinct species, is already making unfavorable
comparisons with Atlanta and its transport mess four years ago.

Overseas journalists and photographers yesterday complained
about an "exorbitant" amount of time to get to venues, buses
that never turned up, marathon train trips, and major
difficulties getting to and from Homebush Bay.

As South African photographer Etienne Rothbart explained: "I
thought Atlanta was a shocker, but this is coming close to it."

While his colleague Herbert Mabuza, a Times Media photographer,
had to wait 80 minutes for a bus to take him from the Main Press
Centre to the Archery Park, only a few kilometres away, Rothbart
gave up on waiting for a promised bus to take him from his Potts
Point hotel to the Olympic venue.

"It was frustrating waiting so long for a bus, and it was so
cold," Mabuza said.

"The other problem is that the bus goes on a loop around the
venue, which adds to the time. The organisers are very helpful,
but the problem is that the buses which are supposed to be
there, are not arriving."

Rothbart, meanwhile, has been forced to "take the lottery" of
the Sydney rail system, "that has seen us take two hours from
Potts Point to here - on an express train".

"We were told a bus was designated to take us from our city
hotel to Homebush, but we haven't seen that bus yet," Rothbart
said.

"What is going to happen when the marathon starts in the
morning?

"We'll have to leave home at 4am. It will almost be a marathon
getting here for the marathon.

"And what's it going to be like when the public start arriving
out here, or when the Olympics is in full swing? It is a worry."

The railway travel has not impressed one North American
journalist based on the subcontinent, who, after taking more
than an hour to travel from Homebush to the city on Wednesday
night, remarked: "The train system in Karachi is better than
this."

It takes 40 minutes by bus to get from the Media Village to the
main press centre, via the International Broadcasting Centre and
some resourceful scribes have even resorted to riding bicycles
to save time.

International Olympic Committee director-general Francois
Carrard yesterday said he was confident Sydney's transport
system would hold up during the Games.

But Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates said the
system was unacceptable.

Mr Carrard acknowledged there had been problems but said he was
confident SOCOG would iron them out in time for the Games.

"Yes, there have been problems. There have been concerns by John
Coates and so on, but I think this is not a surprise because the
period leading up to the Games can be very, very difficult," Mr
Carrard said.

"We are very confident that SOCOG is working out all the
necessary solutions so that this will work out to the best."

Mr Carrard said transportation had been the chief concern at all
Olympic Games.

Earlier yesterday, Mr Coates said he would raise the issue of
transport with Olympic officials in a bid to resolve the
problems.

He said his team had experienced transport problems earlier this
week, while other teams were continuing to have hiccups.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/20000908/A52697-2000Sep7.html