The RiverLINE will operate on a 15-minute schedule on Saturday and Sunday in both directions between Trenton and Walter Rand Transportation Center in Camden with no service in downtown Camden between WRTC and the Entertainment Center.
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The big concern is moving people to and from Philadelphia, where larger crowds are expected for Sunday’s papal mass than at New York events, which have a limited number of tickets available. It will run every 15 minutes on an express line.
New Jersey Department of Transportation officials are expecting major traffic delays surrounding the city, particularly since the Ben Franklin Bridge will be closed, and NJ Transit also is altering its service to accommodate thousands of extra travelers.
“This will be very special event for our community, especially for those who are unable to make it to Philadelphia”, ArtsQuest CEO and President Kassie Hilgert said in the release. Roundtrip tickets will be $30.
The World Meeting of Families staff is giving people the chance to take photos with the cutout, helping build excitement ahead of his visit. That same survey showed that about half of the expected visitors expected to drive their own vehicles to Philadelphia. The Sept. 26-27 visit is expected to draw 2 million people to the region, most by bus or car.
Earlier, the travel logistics company overseeing the registration of charter buses, predicted 5,000 charter buses. “We want people to come and enjoy it, but be prepared”, Schwartz said.
There will be up to 1,875 available tickets for the River Line for each two-hour block of time between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. for a total of 7,500 tickets each day for Saturday and Sunday. Three of the lanes will be reserved for pedestrian traffic; bicycles will be allowed on the bridge, but will need to be walked across.
Nutter said residents in and near the exclusion zones – “down to the address” – will be notified in advance.
Given the possibility that not all buses will have registered and be able to find parking spots in Camden, officials said it was conceivable that they would have to park outside Camden, adding to the distance people would have to walk.
Special tickets will go on sale at 12 p.m. on Aug. 15 for people planning to use those lines during the Pope’s visit. These are advance purchase tickets only. Riders must have a special event ticket pass to ride NJ Transit’s Atlantic City Rail Line and River Line that weekend. Route 30 will be open to other Delaware River crossings. BY ROAD The Benjamin Franklin Bridge between Camden and Philadelphia will be closed from Friday night, Sept. 25, to noon Sunday, Sept. 28.
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“We need the help of all citizens to get the word out about the magnitude of what traveling through New Jersey and to Philadelphia will entail”, DOT Commissioner Jamie Fox said Thursday during a news conference at the Walter Rand Transportation Center.
