The Mass Transit Super Bowl was a public transportation plan and marketing strategy conceived for Super Bowl XLVIII and Super Bowl Week, a series of events leading up to the February 2, 2014, football game between the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks. It was originally projected that over 400,000 people would come to the New York–New Jersey region for the game and related activities, and that over 80,000 would attend the game itself; actual patronage of the metropolitan area during that time was projected to be over 500,000.[1][2] Metropolitan area transit agencies worked with the National Football League, organizers of the event, and developed special services, schedules, fares, and maps to promote the use of mass transit during the week, which began with the arrival of teams on January 26.
On game day, those traveling by train experienced overcrowding and long delays due to miscalculated estimations and an unanticipated surge of passengers, which led to complaints and criticism.[3][4][5]
- ^ "Declaring an Emergency in Order to Appoint New Jersey and Connecticut Police Officers as Railroad Police Officers to Provide Enhanced Security on Commuter Trains, Buses and Ferries | Governor Andrew M. Cuomo". Archived from the original on May 7, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
- ^ "Super Bowl's first 'mass transit' game for fans".
- ^ Flegenheimer, Matt (February 3, 2014). "'Mass-Transit Super Bowl' Hits Some Rough Patches in Moving Fans". New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
- ^ Berman, Taylor. "Pictures From the Great Super Bowl Transport Nightmare". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on May 7, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
- ^ Star-Ledger Editorial Board (February 5, 2014). "NJ Transit's Super Bowl blunder calls for a closer look: Editorial". NJ.com. Retrieved May 6, 2014.