107th IOC Session - LA84 Foundation

uses, and to extend timetables. At every opportunity,
spectators were urged to make their way
to competition venues on foot or by public transport.
A “park and ride” system was enforced,
whereby spectators left their cars at temporary
car parks set up by NAOC, then paid a small fee
to board shuttle buses for the venues. Spectator
shuttle bus service was contracted from private
companies. During the peak period, 480 buses a
day were put into service.
The prefectural police and other traffic authorities
also encouraged the general public to
utilise public transport and refrain from using
private vehicles. For those who did drive, a total
of 17 temporary car parks – four in Nagano
City, five in Iizuna Kogen, five in Hakuba, and
one each in Yamanouchi, Nozawa Onsen, and
Karuizawa – with a capacity of over 23,000
cars, were set up. Upon prior request, physically
challenged spectators were provided with special
vehicle access and parking permits for parking
close to competition venues. Furthermore,
special lift vehicles were made available at
major railway stations.
To avoid congestion at popular events, spectators
using NAOC car parking areas were issued
with tickets for different car parks
according to their direction of travel.
The overwhelming response of the general
public in using public transportation resulted in
the car parks not being utilised as much as expected.
Ironically, the willingness of spectators
to take shuttle buses led to problems on
February 11, when because of increased spectators
due to event rescheduling, there was an insufficient
number of buses from Nagano Station
to the ski jumping venue in Hakuba. The number
of buses was promptly increased, and no further
problems were experienced in this regard.
Transportation of Baggage
A private freight company was contracted to
transport sports equipment between the airports
and the Olympic Village and other designated
accommodations, as well as within the Olympic
area. In principle, luggage that would not fit
onto passenger trains or buses was to be loaded
onto trucks, using one truck for several different
groups of participants. However in practice, one
truck was often provided for each busload of
people. Members of the media brought more
luggage than expected, and the number of trucks
had to be increased. Originally, NAOC had
planned to transport athletes’ sports equipment
the day after arrival so as to avoid arriving at the
wax rooms and storage facilities in Nagano in
the middle of the night. At the request of NOCs
this plan was dropped and equipment was taken
to Nagano the same day as the teams.
Baggage service was complicated by the
fact that several NOCs requested delivery to accommodation
facilities not designated by
NAOC. Furthermore, many NOCs failed to submit
requests for luggage pick-up by the deadline.
11. Transportation and Accommodations
Volunteers guide
spectators at Spiral.
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