Traffic at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium Decreased by 27 Percent Compared to Usual Delays During Major Concerts that Offered Rail Service as a Travel Option.
New Jersey Transit’s Rail Service Served MetLife Stadium Attendees of Taylor Swift and Other Concerts in 2023.
East Rutherford, NJ
Swift Streets? Complete Rankings for Traffic Management at Every Stadium in Taylor Swift’s U.S. Eras Tour.
Summary Information
Event operations can create peaks in demand over short periods of time, posing challenges to transportation networks surrounding event venues such as stadiums and concert halls. In response, venue operators may coordinate with local transportation agencies to manage traffic and promote alternative modes. In May and June 2023, New Jersey Transit operated extra rail and bus services to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford during major concerts including Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, and Morgan Wallen. Fans were encouraged to use transit to access the venue and to purchase round-trip tickets in advance through the agency’s mobile app. This study summarized the traffic impacts resulting from Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour throughout the United States (March 2023 through December 2024).
METHODOLOGY
The study analyzed vehicle hours of delay (VHD) on all non-local roadway segments within a one-mile radius of each stadium on the Eras Tour during the peak arrival hour of 5-6 p.m. on each concert date, including 23 stadiums and 62 concerts. The process was repeated for the same days of week during the month to determine a baseline VHD for a typical travel day. VHD is how long vehicles spend in traffic on a certain roadway segment during congested versus free-flowing conditions, multiplied by the number of vehicles on the road. Aggregated GPS data was the data source, which draws on a sample of vehicles on the road.
FINDINGS
- VHD decreased during the Taylor Swift concerts at MetLife Stadium, by 27 percent on average over three nights.
- Across all stadiums and concerts, average delay hours were 277 percent higher compared to delay hours at comparable times on non-concert dates.
- Only four of 23 venues saw traffic delays increase by less than 100 percent.
- The worst venue for increased traffic was Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, with 1,270 percent higher-than-typical delays.
- Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, another location with transit service, saw a 32 percent increase in traffic delays.
- Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, another location that emphasized transit as a mode to access the concert, had less promising results; VHD increased by 200, 186, and 599 percent over three nights.
