Will Bieber Fever Mean Light Rail Woes?

It felt like the end of the world, for only a moment.

The sound of fallen branch meeting metal wheel. The train's rumble to a halt in the summer heat. The sound of passengers screaming, sighing and rolling their eyes as if all simultaneously thinking, "Here we go again."

That was my experience one Saturday afternoon during Artscape, Baltimore's popular arts festival. The Maryland Transit Administration touts its light rail and Metro subway as the best options to get to events like Artscape and sports games. But something always happens. And until the recent installation of lights and a public address system, riders were generally kept in the dark.

I knew exactly what was going on, and I tweeted it. Our air conditioning still worked, so though we were stuck in the train, we had it far better than the people waiting at Falls Road or any number of stops ahead of us. My story is far from unusual for that weekend. MTA was woefully underprepared for its share of the countless thousands.

Why do I share this story? MTA announced extended hours for Sunday's Justin Bieber concert. Thousands of Bieber fans are expected in the early morning hours to collect their wristbands, and thousands more are expected to use the train to and from the concert that night. For them, the Light Rail will operate outside its usual Sunday schedule with trains every 30 minutes. That is not a typo.

The concert sold out at 12,000. Let's say about 3,000 got there by train. That doesn't count the rare fairgoer who isn't there for Bieber, but let's not complicate things. Let's say MTA puts its three-car trains in service. I can't find exact numbers, but from experience at Artscape and Orioles games, the average light rail car might be able to hold 150 people at phone-booth-level comfort. Let's round up and say 500 people per train to be generous, with trains running every 30 minutes until midnight. And that's assuming no shenanigans, no accidents and no fallen tree branches.

This should end well.