MARTA CEO: Super Bowl preparations on track

MARTA CEO Jeffrey Parker said the agency performed well at Saturday's SEC Championship Game - a key warm-up for the Feb. 3 Super Bowl. (Casey Sykes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Credit: Casey Sykes

Credit: Casey Sykes

MARTA CEO Jeffrey Parker said the agency performed well at Saturday's SEC Championship Game - a key warm-up for the Feb. 3 Super Bowl. (Casey Sykes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

As The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reported, MARTA is beefing up staffing and making other preparations for the Feb. 3 Super Bowl. Among other things, it plans to deploy extra police and "transit ambassadors" to assist passengers during the big game and related events.

Those plans got an early test during Saturday's SEC Championship game, and things went smoothly.

On Thursday, CEO Jeffrey Parker told the MARTA Board of Directors Super Bowl preparations are going “really, really, really well overall.”

“We did have a very successful SEC Championship Game,” Parker told the board during Thursday’s work session. “We have continued to deploy a substantial number of staff during these (big) events.”

MARTA will get another test this Saturday during the Atlanta United playoff game.

“We also expect to have a good crowd (Saturday), and we’re implementing similar practices,” Parker said.

For the Super Bowl, MARTA plans extended hours and more frequent service for its passenger rail service. Said Parker: “We’re in good shape.”

He’ll offer the board a final Super Bowl preparations report in January.