ABSTRACT
Mega-events provide unique opportunities and challenges for the provision of sustainable transport options (Davenport and Davenport, 2006; Dodouras and James, 2004). The sharp increase in demand for mobility from residents and tourists in the host cities provide significant opportunities to promote sustainable alternatives for local transport, changing attitudes and modifying behaviours (Lenskyj, 2000; Silvestre, 2009). Conversely, poor planning or investment before and during an event could cause negative social (Hall, 1992; Ritchie and Hall, 1999; Silvestre, 2009), economic (Matheson, 2002; Siegfried and Zim-balist, 2000) and environmental impacts (Ahmed and Pretorius, 2010; Davenport and Davenport, 2006; Koenig and Leopkey, 2009; Jago et al. 2010); damaging the image of the host city and country and reinforcing unsustainable travel behaviour patterns. Therefore, mobility planning is a critical aspect of mega-events, not only to justify immediate measures to minimise these impacts, but also to find solutions for the persistent mobility problems affecting major metropolitan areas globally (Gakenheimer, 1999; Moss and O’Neil, 2012; Vasconcellos, 2001).
