SEPTA prepares for massive crowds as World Cup arrives in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- With millions expected to watch and thousands set to pour into the city, Philadelphia is gearing up for what officials call the biggest sporting event the city has ever hosted, and SEPTA says it's ready for the surge of FIFA World Cup fans.

SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer said the agency has spent years building its World Cup "playbook," tightening staffing plans and preparing for an unprecedented transit test. "It's going to be all hands," Sauer said.

He said SEPTA is limiting employee vacations and days off to ensure enough staff is available, while also trying to manage stress and burnout. The real challenge begins in two weeks, when Philadelphia hosts six World Cup matches.

Security will look different on match days, Sauer said, with more than 100 officers deployed across the system. "Match days will be huge," he said, adding that even on nonmatch days, police support will be boosted. Some of the increased presence may be visible to riders, while other deployments will be more targeted. "It'll look a lot different. You may not notice it on some days, because we'll be deployed in certain areas heavier than others," he said.

Sauer said the agency will focus on key locations, including the stadium complex, Center City, Cecil B. Moore on North Broad Street, and parts of West Philadelphia.

SEPTA is also ramping up training, including police simulations conducted earlier this month, and expanding its "virtual patrol" system. "We'll have our virtual patrol, which is our civilian unit that monitors all the different cameras," Sauer said. "They can not only see the station cameras, but they can also call up the onboard cameras and watch what's going on inside the trains and inside the buses."

To help visitors navigate the system, SEPTA has added more than 700 ambassadors.

Crowd sizes are expected to dwarf typical gameday traffic. On an average Eagles game day, NRG Station serves 15,000 to 20,000 riders. Sauer said the World Cup could double or triple that. "Somewhere in that 30 to 40,000 range that we're expecting to have to move in and out of that complex," he said. "That's a big number for us. Can we do it? Absolutely. We can."

Sauer noted that SEPTA has handled major events before, including the World Meeting of Families and the Eagles championship parade. But the World Cup will bring a different travel pattern. "For those events we had scheduled days," he said. "Here, because people are going to be traveling all day long... on nonmatch days, it's going to be travel. Lemon Hills may travel to their favorite bar or restaurant."

To support FIFA's free fan fest at Lemon Hill, SEPTA has added service to bus routes 32 and 48, which run closest to the site.

One of the biggest draws for fans may be the cost of getting to the games. Sauer said fares will remain the same during the tournament.

SEPTA has also increased station cleanings and scheduled frequent washdowns at heavily traveled locations throughout the tournament.