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#1 KevinKorell

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Posted 03 February 2014 - 12:38 PM

From Newark, NJ Star-Ledger, 2/3/14:

Mass transit only Super Bowl problem as weather warms up, fans keep cool


The biggest surprise of the night might have been the heavy crush of people that quickly overwhelmed NJ Transit at the Secaucus Junction station long before the start of the game. After urging fans to come by mass transit, the agency was unable to keep up with the more than 27,000 people who heeded its advice.

Story here.


Kevin Korell


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#2 KevinKorell

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Posted 03 February 2014 - 12:46 PM

Newark, NJ Star-Ledger, 2/3/14, a more transit-specific article:

Super Bowl transit nightmare: fans pan hellish commute to and from MetLife Stadium


More than 28,000 people bought train tickets to the Meadowlands, breaking a record set more than four years ago. It was far more people than officials had expected, and it proved too much for the transit system to handle.

Here is that story, a story that doesn't surprise me at all. I predicted this outcome a long time ago. They were trying to get 10 pounds of "something" into a 5 pound bag.


Kevin Korell


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#3 KevinKorell

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Posted 03 February 2014 - 12:53 PM

NY 1-TV, New York, NY, 2/3/14:

Thousands Take Mass Transit to Super Bowl from City


The Super Bowl may have been played in New Jersey, but many of the ticket holders were coming from the city. NY1's Jon Weinstein took the train from Penn Station with thousands of fans and filed the following report..

The fans didn't need to wait to get the stadium to start showing their pride. At every step of the way from Penn Station to East Rutherford, the excitement was apparent.

More


Kevin Korell


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#4 KevinKorell

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Posted 03 February 2014 - 01:02 PM

Daily News, New York, NY, 2/3/14:

SUPER GRIDLOCK: Super Bowl fans trapped for hours at MetLife stadium after NJ Transit is overwhelmed by record number of riders


One of the biggest blowouts in Super Bowl history was capped by one of the biggest blunders in regional transit history.

Overwhelmed by a record number of riders, NJ Transit kept fans waiting after the game for hours for shuttle trains from MetLife Stadium.


Read this.
A visitor echoed what people around here already know:

“Worst train system ever,” fumed Steve Snorsky, 45, of Seattle, whose joy was drained by enormous lines of people waiting for shuttle trains to Secaucus Junction.



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#5 KevinKorell

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Posted 03 February 2014 - 01:33 PM

New York, NY Times, 2/3/14:

‘Mass-Transit Super Bowl’ Hits Some Rough Patches in Moving Fans


About four hours before Sunday’s Super Bowl kickoff, fans of all jersey colors appeared to achieve a moment of angry unity while stuck inside a Secaucus, N.J., rail station. The air was stale, the heat had become blistering, and the ordeal was going on and on, approaching an hour. “A.C.! A.C.!” the fans shouted in a plea for cooler conditions as they strained to get a little closer to the connecting trains to MetLife Stadium.

So even expected fewer fans that actually showed up, NJ TRANSIT didn't think that having that many people within a confined space might affect the temperature in the station. Since it was close to 50 degrees outside as people were travelling towards the game, while dressed for the possibility of colder weather, you don't think they could have eased up on the heat? This story also reminds us that some people just were out travelling , with no connection to watching the game on TV or attending it live, and got swept up in the mess. It was sensible to just stay home, but there are always those who for whatever reason still must travel at that time.

I was wondering about how the shuttle buses from the city were doing, and it appears that with the dedicated lane in the tunnel things went comparatively smoothly. I guess NJ TRANSIT wasn't the lead agency making those decisions. On a Sunday you can always have more buses on standby, but with a single track rail spur it is hard to add more trains. And those who came by cab and were left on the side of the road found out the hard way that this was not a means the planners intended for people to arrive at the venue. They may wish they had opted for the train, even as bad as things turned out.

I'll continue bringing updates as I see them, but it doesn't appear that too many positives are going to come out of this in the days to come.


Kevin Korell


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#6 KevinKorell

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Posted 03 February 2014 - 02:03 PM

Usual commentary (but not the last) from Second Avenue Sagas, 2/3/14. It's important that you read all the reader comments beneath their piece.

After the Super Bowl, a temporary delay


Much like New Jersey Transit apparently did after the Super Bowl, I’m taking tonight off due to hosting duties.

Continue


It's interesting, if this is true as it came from a reader comment, that 5,000 more game attendees took the train away from the stadium than the number who arrived that way. Some of that may be attributed to the taxicab mixup, but truth is that the express bus fares were sold at $51 for the round trip, so why wouldn't one want to get their money's worth rather than paying for another means to get home? Train fare was $10.50 each way between New York and the stadium including the transfer, which for the round trip was still 30 bucks cheaper than the bus.

Edited by KevinKorell, 03 February 2014 - 02:08 PM.


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#7 KevinKorell

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Posted 03 February 2014 - 06:36 PM

From Asbury Park, NJ Press, 2/3/14:

NJ Transit defends Super Bowl train service


NJ Transit’s executive director said the agency didn’t make any mistakes with how it handled Sunday’s Super Bowl train service, even though thousands of riders waited in line for hours for a train ride home from MetLife stadium after the game.

Read the story here.

Here we go. Pat yourselves on the back for a job well done, in your eyes only. Rationalize by calling it a "learning experience" and say "We didn't make any mistakes." Doesn't that conjure up images of new multilevel railcars and engines doing the doggie paddle in Hoboken and Kearny after Sandy?

Learning experience for what and for whom? Even without this epic failure, it's highly unlikely this event will be held again in the Meadowlands anytime in the near future. If anything, it should be chock full of lessons what NOT to do by other areas who host the "second mass transit Super Bowl" or "third mass transit Super Bowl".

No doubt a cold weather venue will be chosen once more for this event, but it would be interesting to see how the MBTA gets fans to Foxborough, or even SEPTA to the much-closer-to-the-city Lincoln Financial Field, or Chicago's Metra and CTA to Soldier Field. Those agencies ultimately will learn and build from this when their day comes, not NJ TRANSIT.

Edited by KevinKorell, 03 February 2014 - 06:37 PM.


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#8 KevinKorell

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Posted 03 February 2014 - 06:54 PM

More from the New York, NY Times, 2/3/14, on the aftermath:

Flocking to Trains, Super Bowl Fans Overwhelmed Transit System


About 28,000 riders took New Jersey Transit to the game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., and more than 33,000 used it to leave. Many encountered serpentine lines, waits of more than two hours, and congestion so severe that attendees were asked to remain inside the stadium long after the game had ended to avoid overwhelming the rail system.

Here is more.

By the headline, somebody is blaming the fans for overwhelming the system, even after they were repeatedly convinced to travel in this manner. While one could not have predicted how many would show up on the trains, buses, and whatever other means they found to get there, maybe there needed to be a requirement that you leave by the same means you got there.

There's still a 5,000 person discrepancy between the number who arrived at MetLife Stadium by train, and how many departed by train. Even after they had trouble handling the 28,000 passengers who took the train to the game, and supposedly ordered buses, it still was not sufficient to handle the resulting exodus from the game, which somehow turned out to be 33,000.

But wait. That means the original fleet of buses taking people back to their origin points had to be operating with a lot of empty seats representing those 5,000 people. And that kind of explains where they got 100 buses and drivers from at such short notice. They were already sitting there unused by those 5,000 people (assuming 50 seats on a bus) who took the train from MetLife who didn't arrived there by train.


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#9 KevinKorell

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Posted 03 February 2014 - 07:11 PM

From Newark, NJ Star-Ledger, 2/3/14:

Review Super Bowl mass transit mess: Wisniewski


State Assembly Transportation Committee chairman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex) called for a review of the mass transit mass confusion following the Super Bowl on Sunday night and this morning at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.

Here's that story.


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#10 KevinKorell

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Posted 04 February 2014 - 01:01 PM

Here's the expected longer version from Second Avenue Sagas (2/4/14) with their opinions on what happened on Sunday. They are clearly calling for the head of NJ TRANSIT Executive Director James Weinstein, wondering why he's still there after Sandy, and saying that even if Governor Christie doesn't immediately fire him, the court of public opinion will lead to that result.

Inside NJ Transit’s post-Super Bowl debacle


In all of the promotional materials leading up to the Super Bowl, mass transit played a key role. The build-up to the game, much to the chagrin of New Jersey politicians, focused around New York City, but the anti-climactic Super Bowl happened out in the swamps of Jersey.

Here is their piece.

Weinstein is blaming the problem on the weather, essentially saying that it was too good! Had it been a snowy day, he says fewer people would have gone to the game. I hardly believe that with seats costing a minimum of $1200, that anyone would then choose to miss the game had they paid that kind of money for it.

“Can we figure out better ways to handle it? I’m sure we can,” he said. “What those are, I’m not sure at this point that I’m able to articulate them.”

Then why didn't you, Jim? Did this event surprise you at the last minute? And not being able to articulate is a problem too if you're in a CEO position such as this one. Well past time to go, Jim.


Kevin Korell


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Lakewood, NJ





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