James_May-June_2026_web - Flipbook - Page 18
Meanwhile, MARTA, the city’s
transit authority, is fully embracing
the World Cup as an opportunity to
showcase itself. “We are leaning into
the World Cup. We’re making some
of our largest technological and infrastructure investments in MARTA
history,” said interim General Manager Jonathan Hunt. A new Breeze
card system overhaul will allow riders to tap and pay with their phones
or cards— no more standing in line
to purchase tickets. Trains will run
every five minutes on match and
festival days, with cars waiting on
‘pocket tracks’ to decrease wait
times for passengers. Similarly, extra
buses will be staged around the city
to meet increased demand. Hundreds of transit ambassadors will be
stationed throughout the system to
welcome visitors, and wayfinding
branding will feature bright, colorful iconography to make it easy for
non-English speakers to use the system. Multilingual announcements
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are being prepared, targeted specifically to the teams/countries playing
in Atlanta.
Sixteen cities spread across
North America are all racing to
make sure they’re prepared for this
summer’s hosting duties. They’ve
all faced their own issues, forged
their own coalitions and made
their own preparations. Are they all
ready? We’ll have to wait and see.
Here in Georgia organizers are
confident that the region is prepared
for a month of international soccer
and everything that comes with it.
Said FIFA Atlanta Host City Director
Bev Carey, “I know that when Cape
Verde takes the field against Spain,
a debutante team coming in against
one of the best in the world, Atlanta
is going to be alive. I know with 100
percent certainty that Atlanta is
going to be ready.”
Patrick Hickey is a staff writer and the James
and James Magazine Online office/circulation manager.
