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Boats beat Tubes and taxis as the best way home
Evening Standard 02.08.07
Home run: Helen Raeside faced a long taxi queue
Making a getaway: Darren Jones sprinted from the concert to beat the rush
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A week ago thousands struggled to get home from the O2 arena when two concerts and a film premiere coincided.
Roads were blocked, causing delays of an hour to get out of the car park and taxis were stuck trying to pick up from the venue. Last night there was a big improvement in some areas although fans were still delayed.
TAXIS
There were queues of up to an hour for cabs after more than 20,000 people left the arena at once. Helen Raeside, 27, an asset manager from Blackheath, said: "I have been at work and because it is late I need to get a taxi home - but I have come across this massive queue. A lot of people are staying south of the river, and the Tube doesn't really cater for them. There just doesn't seem to be enough taxis."
Taxi driver Sam Bagnall, 27, from Kent, said: "The reason why there aren't any drivers here is they close the Blackwall Tunnel to one lane at 10.30pm - the time the concert finished. It takes us 15 minutes to drive from here to Canary Wharf but an hour to get back again, so we are losing money by coming back."
Karl Williams, 46, a marketing manager from Elephant and Castle, said: "I have been waiting in the queue for half an hour."
Wheelchair-bound Marie Sharpe, 45, from Tower Hamlets, had no other way to get home and had pre-booked one but it didn't turn up so was faced with joining the queue.
THE TUBE
Tube staff had to shut the doors to North Greenwich station several times as the crowds threatened to clog up the platforms.
Darren Jones, a 28-year-old banker from Ruislip, said: "We realised we would have to run for a train after (the concert) finished so that's what we did. It hasn't spoiled our night, though."
Kelly Wright, 25, an event coordinator from Clapham, said: "I was here at the weekend to see Scissor Sisters and had to queue for 45 minutes for the Tube. It is a great venue but the transport does let it down."
Sara Anthony, a 23-year-old caterer from Harrow said: "A lot of people left early because they thought Prince had finished but he came back on. So the people were actually staggered coming out. That said, it is better than Wembley - I was there last month and the Tube station was at a complete standstill."
CAR
Queues were much shorter and fans had a much easier time getting home.
BOAT
Passengers on the service to Waterloo positively enjoyed their journey. Vicar Stephen Hence, 41, from Clapham, said: "This is the third time I have been to the arena and I used the Tube before - but 22,000 people getting on it at once is complete hell. The boat is very pleasant and the most you should have to wait for one is 15 minutes."
Reader views (1)
I've been trying to plan a trip to an event at the O2 Dome. Transport appears to be a BIG problem, and even just finding out about options is near impossible. So I won't be spending good money on coming to London. Which is a pity, don't you think?
- S Sainswick, Stroud UK
