What did you learn in your first ‘proper’ transportation role as a technician with the Worcestershire County Council travel and development team?

It was a great start to my career in transportation and I learned basic highway design principles, highway maintenance and how to review the impact of planning applications to the highway network.

What key lessons did you learn in your role as principal traffic engineer for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham?

That job allowed me to combine my love of sports with transportation. I learned that building up strong key stakeholder relationships was vital to successfully deliver the Games. Getting land use agreements in place at the earliest opportunity with third parties was another important lesson.

What do you wish you knew starting out, that you know now?

That transportation in terms of a job/career involves many different areas, with all of these directly or indirectly linking into each other. I wouldn’t, in my wildest dreams, have believed that my first job would lead to me working on the biggest sporting event in the world. 

How did you learn this? And why is it so valuable/important to you?

Through increasing my professional network, I started to see and understand that transportation was such a varied career. This, to me, is valuable in that it allows you to progress and develop your skills.

What are your plans for the new role at Doha? What challenges do you foresee and how are you addressing them? How did Birmingham prepare you for Doha?

I moved out to Qatar on 11 September and will stay here until after the World Cup final on 19 December 2022. I'm based at Al Bayt stadium, which hosts many key matches and is delivering the largest bus operation of all the venues. Al Bayt is paired with Lusail stadium, which will host the World Cup Final, so I also need to be familiar with that stadium's bus operations too.  

Working on the Birmingham 2022 Games helped because I already knew some people from Birmingham, which helped me quickly settle into Qatar. I also got to use some of the acronyms and terminology that are common across the events. 

While my role for Birmingham 2022 was more focused on traffic management operations, working on spectator bus operations and dealing with the large numbers of spectators has provided me with invaluable experience. The successes of free transport provided for the Games in Birmingham was great preparation for the Qatar World Cup.

The biggest challenge is that Qatar is a small country with all eight stadiums within one hour/70km of each other. That situation places a high demand on to the road network, but we are encouraging a modal shift for local residents to use public transport over cars. 

How is that “modal shift” being communicated locally?

For Qatari residents and businesses, travel demand messages have been based on five key areas:

1. Re-mode: consider walking, cycling or using public transport or share the ride.
2. Re-time: avoid travelling during rush hour and areas where matches are being played – or try to travel at quieter times.
3. Reroute: will your normal route be busy? Aim to plan alternative routes and allow extra time for journeys. Check for road closures or diversions before you travel and use park and ride options for central Doha.
4. Remain: Consider getting deliveries instead of making the trip yourself. If you really need to go shopping, walk to local convenience stores instead of driving to the mall.
5. Reduce: reschedule meetings or trips to occur outside of matchday times and consider switching to phone or video meetings.

Tim Gibbons was in conversation with John Challen.

Book your place on the 15 November tour of the West Midlands Combined Authority Regional Transport Coordination Centre (RTCC) which played a central role during the Commonwealth Games in supporting the movement of participants and visitors across the region. This event is organised by CIHT West Midlands.

Why not enhance your professional network through using CIHT Connect? 

Tim Gibbons

Book your place on the 15 November tour of the West Midlands Combined Authority Regional Transport Coordination Centre (RTCC) which played a central role during the Commonwealth Games in supporting the movement of participants and visitors across the region. This event is organised by CIHT West Midlands.

Why not enhance your professional network through using CIHT Connect?