Transit Agencies Prepare to Welcome the World as World Cup, Olympics, Come to the U.S.
10/8/2024
Thousands, maybe millions, of people will surge into U.S. cities in the next few years for mega-events. They will visit cities throughout the country for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and 2026 World Cup, and then Los Angeles for the 2028 Summer Olympics.
The public transit agencies serving these areas will be challenged to “not steal the headlines” from the events, as Phillip Eng, GM and CEO of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, stated at the Mobilizing Millions: Optimizing Transit for Mega Events Session at the 2024 APTA TRANSform, sponsored by StrataGen Systems, Inc.
Eng cited MBTA’s management of the Celtics championship parade crowds in June as a success story and described the past year’s preparations for the World Cup. Systemwide train line repairs, increased staffing, and an accessible rebuild of a critical station for the games are all ongoing, and creating incremental service improvements for residents.
In New Jersey, also slated to host FIFA games, NJ TRANSIT is taking best practices from mega-event hosts in Rio, Paris, Tokyo, and Seoul, said agency president and CEO Kevin Corbett. It is also building on lessons learned from previous mega-challenges, and “putting in tremendous resources,” like adding dedicated bus lanes, called the Secaucus Meadowlands Transitway, and a terminal at the destination MetLife Stadium, staffing up its own police force, training staff, and planning for transit ambassadors.
Session moderator Stephanie Wiggins, CEO, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, asked the panel’s federal representatives, who joined her in fact-finding at the Paris Olympics, about mega-events.
Felicia Alexander, deputy assistant secretary at USDOT, was impressed with France’s use of wayfinding and ambassadors, but focused on preparation. She noted that many more events are forecast to come to the U.S. in the next decade, and DOT has already been working with the White House National Security Council and the event organizations to plan air and highway travel for more than a year.
Ray Tellis, regional administrator, Region 9, FTA, said 2028 preparations included subway and light rail extensions in LA, borrowing buses and dedicating bus lanes to support the goal of a car-free Olympics. He also referred to a Dear Colleague letter from Acting FTA Administrator Veronica Vanterpool, listing considerations available to agencies in host cities.
The group saw great opportunity in the upcoming games. Alexander said, “Every transit agency across the nation, in some … form or fashion, has the opportunity to change the nation’s perspective on how public transit becomes essential in the United States.”