WWE Blamed For WrestleMania Transit Issues, Photos Of Long Transit Lines, WWE Issues Statement

By Raj Giri

As we reported in our WrestleMania off-camera notes, transportation was a big issue at WrestleMania 35 as people left the event.

Apparently for fans who drove to the show, the issue wasn't as bad as others faced. While there was a big jam in the traffic lot, that is to be expected, and fans were out within 20 to 45 minutes.

Around 30 to 45 minutes after WrestleMania ended, it started to rain. Fans waited for hours to catch the trains. Wrestling Inc.'s Kelsi Schreiber noted that the wait for the trains was absurd. Below are some photos of the lines:

Reader Justin Lopez noted that it took him three hours to get on a bus:

Fans trying to catch an Uber, Lyft or taxi also had issues. The Uber surge pricing was very high, and many fans were waiting for long periods for an Uber, only for it to get cancelled.

TV Star and WWE fan, Ashlee White who previously starred in Bravo's The Princesses of Long Island, had a frightening experience. White noted to me that after waiting an hour in a long line to get an Uber, the driver got lost. She posted these tweets asking for help during the ordeal, noting that the driver was driving fast in the wrong direction and stopped in the middle of the highway:

White finally saw a police car on the side of the road and was able to get out. Police took her to a train station and waited for her to catch another Uber:

Uber finally got in touch with White this morning and refunded both of her rides, and provided her with a $100 credit. They apologized and said that they were taking the issue to their leadership team, and are also investigating the driver.

A NJ Transit spokesperson blamed WWE's decision to extend the event to 12:30 a.m. for the problems. Including the pre-show, WrestleMania 35 clocked in at 7.5 hours, making it the longest WrestleMania in history.

"The primary factor contributing to the post-event delays was the WWE's decision to extend the event to 12:30 a.m., which had significant operational impacts on the evening," Jim Smith, a NJ Transit spokesman said, via NorthJersey.com. "NJ TRANSIT was not informed of this decision until late last night."

WWE spokesperson Matthew Altman said that they don't advertise their end times "just like other sports and entertainment events" and that they were not fined.

"We regret any inconveniences fans may have experienced with mass transportation after the event," Altman added in a statement.

To get to New York, fans had to take trains to Secaucus Junction and then transfer to New York-bound trains. Trains were supposed to operate every 10 minutes until the crowd was taken care of. NJ Transit planned to use six train sets until 1 a.m. based on WWE's initial schedule.

"The decision to extend this event resulted in our inability to operate some of those trains due to federal requirements limiting train crew hours," Smith said.

The number of trains they were able to use was cut in half to three trains due to those federal requirements.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said that he believed the NJ Transit stating that the show went longer than they were told that it was going to be.

"At the end of the day folks are frustrated, they ought to be," Governor Murphy said. "It's completely, utterly dog-ate-my-homework unacceptable."

Source: NorthJersey.com

Comments

Recommended