MARTA preps for massive ridership during FIFA World Cup
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MARTA says it's prepared to transport hundreds of thousands of soccer fans from around the globe when the FIFA World Cup comes to town.
Why it matters: MARTA moves millions of people every year — but it hasn't been tested by such a large event since the 1996 Summer Olympics.
- Elected officials and civic and business leaders — along with fans and regular riders — are hoping MARTA can handle the ridership surge in June.
Zoom in: In addition to increasing train service on match days and rerouting bus routes away from the Downtown megaevent, MARTA is designing service scenarios to be nimble, Jon Gordon, the agency's director of customer engagement, told the MARTA board Thursday.
- Transit police officers from other cities, retired workers who know the system, and an army of volunteers will patrol trains and assist visitors, officials said.
- Expect FIFA-sanctioned wayfinding signs in multiple languages and original artwork at Five Points, which recently underwent an interior renovation including new lighting, platforms and more.
Getting people to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, South Downtown, and Centennial Olympic Park, the site of FanFest and the center of World Cup activities for non-ticket holders, is just part of MARTA's planning.
- Decatur is hosting a 34-day soccer festival, Dunwoody has a watch party, and State Farm Arena is planning a concert series, Gordon said.
- "If there's a concern that excitement is restricted only to match days, rest assured that metro Atlanta's energy will only scale up on June 11, well before our first kickoff on June 15."
Zoom out: Crucial to MARTA's success are major investments coming online in April, just months before matches start, interim MARTA general manager and CEO Jonathan Hunt told the board.
- Those include a new payment system that allows people to pay at the faregate, a redesigned bus route network, and the long-awaited A-Line bus rapid transit line between Downtown and the Atlanta Beltline.
Yes, but: MARTA's highly anticipated new rail cars, which were supposed to start service this past year, are delayed again and expected to start rolling just days before the tournament starts, the AJC reports.
In the weeds: MARTA officials have charted out which countries' visitors are more likely to use transit and how to serve their needs (for example, riders from Denmark are expected to use transit on non-game days).
- They're also monitoring rivalries to determine whether they need to adjust service to meet demand. One bummer: As of right now, Atlanta's matches are ranking pretty low on the rivalry scale.