What do you think MARTA should consider for the Super Bowl? (Sandy Springs: to buy, airport)

[ATLTJL]

I read this article with great interest:

https://www.ajc.com/news/local-govt-...gcz2qtpIgxrpI/

I know time is just about out to prepare for the Super Bowl. But reading about people selling Breeze cards gave me an idea....

I sure hope MARTA is suspending its requirement to tap Breeze cards to exit during the Super Bowl. Can you imagine how frustrating it will be for people trying to get to the stadium as they fumble for Breeze cards and wait for people to tap out?

I assume this won't be required, but the article doesn't say. What other simple and cheap changes should MARTA make during this time to help with efficiency?

[Gulch]

Run 8-car trains from (at the latest) Thursday through Monday.

[lazymerch]

They should just pray that they can run smoothly without mechanical delays.

[BananaPeel]

MARTA should just not charge fares. It amazes me that they are going to pay extra people to help travelers with the fare machines ("more than 600 transit “ambassadors” to guide passengers" and "supplement vending machines with employees selling Breeze Cards at numerous locations"). Just save the money you would spend paying these people and use to let everyone ride free for a day, or a weekend.

At the very very least, if you insist on collecting fares, get rid of the exit gates at the Dome/GWCC station. Keep the exit gates open at the Dome station, to avoid the delays with unfamiliar people fumbling for Breeze cards.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by Gulch

Run 8-car trains from (at the latest) Thursday through Monday.

This, requires no extra train operator and adds capacity to existing trains.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by lazymerch

They should just pray that they can run smoothly without mechanical delays.

It seems like praying is all they've been doing, because they certainly haven't been correcting whatever is causing all the problems. This is going to be their downfall. I can't remember the last day they managed to operate without mechanical malfunctions.

I have a bad feeling about all of this.

[CCATL]

MARTA rail has been atrocious lately. I've personally experienced delays downtown heading northbound that range from about 5-7 minutes, but co-workers have told me it's significantly worse at the OTP stations (this seems confirmed by reddit reports). They've said there have been 15-30 minute delays, with multiple trains heading northbound but none heading southbound. Considering the trains should be about 10 minutes apart, which is already a long time to wait, it's completely unacceptable for delays of that magnitude. Last weekend, I experienced similar delays at Peachtree Center heading southbound.

I'm a frequent MARTA user and a big supporter of this system - very rarely have I had issues. But over the past 2 weeks, it's been particularly bad, and causing a lot of people to be late to work. Does anybody know if there has been something going on to cause these delays? I don't know what is going wrong with the system lately, but they better get it taken care of before next week.

[Citykid3785]

I used Marta during the 2018 NCAA football championship game. Specifically I used the train around 4 pm from the airport up the Sandy Springs. It's the only time I've actually used MARTA. Everything went super smooth, the only real delay was waiting for about 5-10 to buy a ticket at the airport as there were lines. But once you got past that point, the train itself was a breeze.

[DreamerD]

It would be nice for people not to have to tap to get out. I wish they would continue this after the Superbowl. It feels so weird having to tap to exit.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by CCATL

MARTA rail has been atrocious lately. I've personally experienced delays downtown heading northbound that range from about 5-7 minutes, but co-workers have told me it's significantly worse at the OTP stations (this seems confirmed by reddit reports). They've said there have been 15-30 minute delays, with multiple trains heading northbound but none heading southbound. Considering the trains should be about 10 minutes apart, which is already a long time to wait, it's completely unacceptable for delays of that magnitude. Last weekend, I experienced similar delays at Peachtree Center heading southbound.

I'm a frequent MARTA user and a big supporter of this system - very rarely have I had issues. But over the past 2 weeks, it's been particularly bad, and causing a lot of people to be late to work. Does anybody know if there has been something going on to cause these delays? I don't know what is going wrong with the system lately, but they better get it taken care of before next week.

A train derailed last week near the airport, and that caused problems for three days. There were also a bunch of unspecified mechanical difficulties in the last few weeks. It HAS been particularly bad recently. I watched six trains go by heading south while waiting for a northbound train at East Point recently. I don't know how that's even possible, or where all these southbound trains go if none are moving north. Being that close to the end of the line, there must have be a massive pileup of trains going nowhere in a situation like that.