How Cities Can Prepare Their Transportation Networks for Major Events

Last summer, the Paris Olympics achieved record ticket sales and enthusiastic crowds - bringing together 10,500 athletes from 205 nations to compete at 306 events over 17 days. With over 9.5 million tickets sold for this iconic event, Paris faced a herculean challenge to host and move attendees across venues throughout the city.

Large events like the Olympics, World Cup, Formula one or even the Taylor Swift's Eras Tour require tremendous resources to organize, manage, and ensure safety. While investments often focus on event planning for attendees, cities must also prioritize and plan for how inevitable infrastructure disruptions will affect the residents not participating in the events.

During the Olympics, Paris had to manage 185,000 road closures, increased demand for public transit services, and medical, military, and police presences around venues. Yet public disruption wasn't just for the duration of the event. Months of preparations drove a 30% drop in tourism and led residents to avoid the city center. Construction and road closures created detours for drivers and made many areas difficult to access.

Some disruption is a necessary evil. However, there are steps cities and communities can take to ensure a positive mobility experience for both visitors and residents.

1. Consolidate oversight and regional coordination

In many regions, public transportation and roads are managed by a patchwork of agencies and operators. Each entity makes independent decisions about their section, often isolated from and without visibility into how their choices impact each other. For example, significant road closures may drive higher demand for rail services that need to be accommodated with increased service frequency and staffing.

To avoid this, many communities have consolidated agencies under a single regional authority that oversees roads, transport, and tolling for an entire region. Transport for NSW and the Department of Transport and Main Roads in QLD in Australia are great examples - enabling coordinated decisions about closures, event services, and public messaging

Consolidation can't happen overnight. In the meantime, municipalities can work toward a unified, system-based approach. Cities must maintain channels for open, inter-agency communication and decision-making transparency around major events.

2. Create a common operational view

One of the biggest operational challenges during large-scale events is maintaining a real-time understanding of how the full transport network is performing - across roads, rail, buses, pedestrian flows, and critical intersections. Without a common operating picture, agencies risk siloed, reactive responses that compound disruptions instead of containing them.

Modern transport management platforms and central transport management systems can integrate data from traffic signals, road sensors, public transit, CCTV, maintenance and event schedules and emergency services into a single dashboard. Real-time visibility helps operators anticipate congestion, deploy extra services, and issue live updates. It also enables sophisticated analytics and predictive modeling, which allows agencies to forecast likely service delays based on historical patterns and current conditions - keeping both event attendees and residents moving.

3. Deploy smart signals and vehicle prioritization

Legacy traffic signals, governed by fixed timers, aren't designed for fluctuating crowds or sudden congestion. Smart traffic signals - equipped with sensors, cameras, and real-time data connections - dynamically adjust signal timing based on actual conditions.

During a large event, one poorly timed intersection can ripple across the network. Smart signals allow cities to coordinate signal timing to reduce congestion and gridlock, Many modern systems also offer vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication capabilities, where buses, emergency services or other priority vehicles can signal their approach to an intersection and automatically receive a green light, improving throughput and safety.

At recent F1 Grand Prix events, Cubic-supported traffic management teams used this technology to keep event shuttles and emergency services on schedule. Cities hosting global events can apply these same systems to ease congestion and improve safety for both visitors and residents.

4. Incentivize public transit use

The most efficient way to move large volumes of people to and from a major event is with public transportation. Cities should offer incentives and actively manage service frequencies so residents can still access necessary services.

Incentives might include free or discounted transit bundled with event tickets, promotional passes, or travel rewards. Providing mobile apps with real-time schedules, vehicle tracking, fare payment, and multi-language options makes public transit a viable choice for both locals and tourists.

Open payments and contactless ticketing systems can also allow visitors to pay with bank cards or mobile wallets, avoiding the need for unfamiliar local fare cards. Many cities have successfully integrated this approach, including Sydney's Opal system and the London Oyster system, where Cubic has supported open-loop payment systems designed to create a simple, intuitive payment systems for tourists and daily riders alike.

5. Scale customer service and field support

Major events drive significant spikes in customer inquiries - from route questions, to fare issues, to lost-and-found requests. To maintain a positive rider experience and keep services moving smoothly, cities must proactively increase customer service staffing at call centers, transit hubs, and major venues.

Pop-up information booths at airports, transport hubs, and event precincts are invaluable for guiding unfamiliar travelers and answering frequently asked questions. Simultaneously, digital self-service channels - including multilingual chatbots, journey planners, and real-time service alerts - reduce call volumes.

Agencies should also scale up field services teams to monitor infrastructure, repair equipment, and respond quickly to maintenance issues that could disrupt service during peak periods.

6. Communicate early and often

Proactive, personalized traveler information is one of the simplest and most effective ways to minimize disruption during a large event. Cities should start communicating service changes, road closures, and travel tips well in advance - not only to attendees, but to residents and commuters.

Dynamic message signs, mobile alerts, event-specific apps, and journey planning tools can all help travelers make informed decisions. Live service updates and rerouting suggestions during the event keep traffic and transit networks moving, even under pressure.

Major events offer cities a global spotlight - and an operational stress test. While disruption is inevitable, cities that prioritize regional coordination, invest in technology, and maintain clear, consistent communication can transform those challenges into a better experience for both visitors and residents.