Transportation Boost Planned for Super Bowl

Transportation Boost Planned for Super Bowl
MetLife Stadium, home to the New York Jets and New York Giants football teams, in East Rutherford, N.J., Dec. 1, 2013. The stadium, home to the New York Jets and New York Giants football teams, is the scheduled host site for Super Bowl XLVIII. Feb. 2, 2014, is a day that will be remembered forever in not only the NFL, but in New York and New Jersey, as the Super Bowl will be played outdoors in a northern market for the first time ever. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Ivan Pentchoukov
12/9/2013
Updated:
12/9/2013

NEW YORK—With more than 400,000 people expected to flood into New York and New Jersey for the Super Bowl in February, transit authorities on both sides of the Hudson River are making extensive plans to accommodate all the travelers.

Some 80,000 people will attend the Super Bowl, but the MetLife Stadium has only 13,000 parking spots for special pass holders. Authorities expect that up to 70 percent of the fans will use public transportation to get to the game.

A special Fan Express bus will take football fans directly to the stadium from several convenient locations in New York and New Jersey. Tickets for the Fan Express will cost $51 and are already on sale at SBFanExpress.com

Meanwhile, New Jersey Transit released a Super Bowl themed eight-day Super Pass, which provides unlimited rides across the system from Jan. 27 to Feb. 3. The passes are on sale until Jan. 20 on the NJ Transit website.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will provide additional lanes directed to the stadium before and after the game. The Authority will have four New Jersey-bound lanes in the Lincoln Tunnel leading up to the game.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will expand the Long Island Rail Road service during the days leading up to the Super Bowl. Additional trains will be added for peak times during game day.

“With hosting duties split between two states, physically separated by a river, the geographic footprint of Super Bowl XLVIII is unlike any other in the game’s history,” said Alfred Kelly Jr., president of the NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee. “Events, hotels, and hospitality options will exist in abundance on both sides of the Hudson River, and we are committed to providing reliable and accessible transportation options to all travelers.”

Not among the plans is an all-purpose pass that could be used on all systems. That was discussed initially but was ultimately deemed too complicated.

Organizers are calling February’s Super Bowl at MetLife Stadium the first “public transportation” Super Bowl. They’re hoping fans with tickets and those who travel to the area just to take part in the Super Bowl buzz will use trains and buses instead of driving.

Much of the game-day burden figures to fall on NJ Transit, which is expected to carry as many as three times as many passengers from Secaucus on Super Bowl Sunday than it did for Sunday’s Jets-Oakland game, according to executive director James Weinstein.

Weinstein said Monday the agency has conducted drills at a recent Giants and Jets game and has made adjustments.

“It can be as simple as people walking all the way to the end of the platform and the doors opening up and everybody getting on, instead of lingering,” he said. “In order to get 1,300 to 1,500 people on the train efficiently, that’s what has to happen. We believe it’s probably going to be less of a challenge getting people who are unfamiliar with our system to do that.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Ivan is the national editor of The Epoch Times. He has reported for The Epoch Times on a variety of topics since 2011.
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