Rutgers Athletics Announces New Guest Service Initiative and Football Gameday Traffic Plan

In a recent post to ScarletKnights.com, Rutgers Athletics announced the establishment of R Guest Services, a new arm of the athletic department to assist guests on gameday, as well as a new traffic plan to hopefully get fans in and out of the area much quicker.

According to the release, R Guest Services will “enhance the overall fan experience by serving as a visible, approachable resource throughout athletic venues on game day. Team members will be stationed strategically across venues to answer questions, provide directions and information, assist with guest needs and respond to customer concerns in real time.”

In addition, there will be a new helpline where fans can text “KNIGHTS” to 6050 or email guestservices@scarletknights.com to report issues and receive assistance.

In addition to the introduction of R Guest Services, the department also announced that it will be introducing a new traffic plan, one that includes increased shuttle services. According to the release, “Third-party experts Populous and WSP conducted an extensive review of traffic patterns and parking, and pedestrian flow last season. As a result of those findings, fans will see an improved process for ingress and egress at the parking lots and gates at SHI Stadium.”

According to the release, “Rutgers will operate a courtesy shuttle on the Busch campus to serve fans parking in the outer lots. Shuttle bus pickup begins three hours before kickoff between the Purple and Black Lots on the corner of Brett Road and Bartholomew Road, and it will drop fans off near Athletes Glen. The shuttle will run for one hour following the game. Rutgers will continue to provide ADA shuttle service as in years past, with pickup locations at Jersey Mike’s Arena, the Busch Student Center and Lot 53.”

On a personal note, I am interested to see how this new traffic flow improves the shuttle service to Jersey Mike’s Arena, if at all. That is where many first-time attendees/ season ticket holders park, and a good game day experience will help to ensure that those people come back. During several of the better-attended games last season, fans had to wait hours in line to get on a shuttle back to their car, which is not a good look for the Gameday experience overall.