After years of hype, believe it or not, the 2026 FIFA World Cup will kick off downtown in just 95 days. As an integral part of the experience, Atlanta’s transit authority is vowing to strive for “operational excellence” as the city welcomes the world. 

MARTA detailed plans today for its latest “Let MARTA Drive” campaign as Atlanta preps for the world’s biggest sporting event—and a month-long series of gatherings expected to be among the largest in city history.  

MARTA has compiled a “robust readiness plan” that will aim to provide the millions of soccer fans and metro residents expected to visit downtown with world-class transit, per agency leaders. 

That includes widespread system upgrades, safety training, and plans for more frequent trains and buses. 

Regarding customer safety, MARTA officials relayed today the agency recently completed “rigorous” training with federal agencies that included active shooter drills and a simulated train assault. The MARTA Police Department is working with FIFA, the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, and other local law enforcement and public service agencies to provide coordinated World Cup security, per officials. 

Courtesy of MARTA

MARTA also plans to temporarily pause major exterior construction at its centralized transit hub, Five Points station, to help ensure “a festive atmosphere” during World Cup. The station’s exterior will be wrapped in a huge mural by Atlanta artist Vera Zeigler to help boost spirits, per MARTA’s announcement. 

In terms of the ridership experience, MARTA is implementing key changes to meet what it anticipates will be unprecedented demand. Those were summarized by the agency today as follows, edited for length: 

  • “Robust rail frequency: On match days, MARTA will augment rail services to five-minute headways, ensuring fans can reach the stadium and fan zones with minimal wait times.
  • Rapid response bus fleet: A minimum of 30 buses will be staged as a rapid response fleet, including vans positioned at five strategic stations to mitigate any potential service disruptions.
  • Crowd control: Match day service will include deploying specialized shuttle trains for crowd egress from Atlanta Stadium (aka, Mercedes-Benz Stadium) and maintaining standby bus fleets to respond to real-time ridership surges.
  • Recommendations: As part of its crowd control measures, MARTA will urge customers to use all rail stations located downtown near the stadium and entertainment district, including SEC District, Vine City, Five Points, Peachtree Center, and Garnett Stations.
  • Support: MARTA Transit Ambassadors will provide up to 12 hours of daily coverage on both match and non-match days to assist with wayfinding and crowd management,” per the agency. 

MARTA also plans to launch its quicker, simplified better Breeze far payment system on March 28, long before the first match kicks off in Atlanta on June 15. It will allow MARTA customer to tap-and-pay directly at faregates and validators with bank cards or mobile wallets, cutting out the need to wait in line for physical cards.

But for those who’d prefer a souvenir, MARTA is producing 100,000 commemorative World Cup-branded Breeze cards (as shown below) for purchase at ticket vending machines.

Courtesy of MARTA

Beyond beefed-up staff, MARTA says a small army of 100 FIFA volunteers will be posted around the system to help with navigating it—in multiple languages. 

Jonathan Hunt, MARTA’s interim general manager and CEO, says the system is ready to be the “mobility backbone” of Atlanta’s World Cup festivities. 

“[We’ll] provide… a seamless, world-class transit experience for visitors and metro Atlantans alike,” said Hunt in a prepared statement. “We want the world to know that the safest and most reliable way to get around Atlanta this summer is to let MARTA drive.”

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