MARTA moved approximately 1.7 million people to four World Cup matches, nine FIFA Fan Festivals, and other World Cup-related events and festivities during the first two weeks of the tournament, the transit agency announced Tuesday.
The busiest day on the MARTA system was Wednesday, June 24, for the Morocco vs. Haiti match, when MARTA moved approximately 220,000 rail customers — about 2.3 times the number of riders seen on a typical weekday.
MARTA Transit Ambassadors worked close to 4,000 shifts, assisting customers across the system on match and fan fest days. Hundreds of MARTA police officers, along with law enforcement support from Denver transit, continued increased patrols on trains and buses, in stations and bus transfer hubs, and in parking lots systemwide.
“On match days, we operate like the system we want to be every day,” MARTA General Manager and CEO Collie Greenwood said. “This is the kind of ridership and service quality that our customers deserve, and we’re proving we can deliver it.”
The agency increased rail frequency to every five minutes on match and fan fest days and ran dedicated shuttle trains for crowd egress from Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Atlanta hosts a Round of 16 match Tuesday afternoon and a sold-out semifinal Wednesday at 3 p.m. The semifinal is expected to draw more than 70,000 fans to Mercedes-Benz Stadium and test MARTA’s capacity again.
The agency said the surge in ridership could have lasting benefits. Average weekday ridership has remained about 15 percent above pre-tournament levels even on non-match days, suggesting that many first-time riders are becoming regular users.
