Here is a fair press accessment: F1 Link From personal experience the atmosphere, the track itself and the on-site staff were great. Getting to and from the track a real downer (unless you could afford the $650 per person daily helicopter). If you rode the bus, there were lines to park and to get on the bus topped off by a 1/2 mile walk just to get to the gate. We arrived at the Expo Center at 7 on Friday; 6:30 on Saturday; and 6 on Sunday. No issues getting to the track - however leaving the track we waited 15, 30 and 90 minutes to get back on the bus (all after the 1/2 mile walk). Let's hope they make great strides in the ground transport area for the next race.
On Saturday and Sunday of the race I took FM 973 behind decker lake. There was a stream of school busses going from the Expo center to the toll road both mornings. All I could think was "high class". I was wondering how much those on board had to pay for school bus transit to the track.
A big problem with the way the buses went was the lack of being able to control it. They had so many independent contractors and companies from around the country with no way to reel them in. They had no radio control or contact with them. The charters could do what they wanted, when they wanted, and they did. They were going off the designated routes, in wrong lanes and driving very erratically. There were several accidents involving them. The Metro and UT buses all had dispatch contact and specific routes and protocol to follow...with accountability. The rogue elements were a major problem even to the buses following protocol. It was a mess. Also, it was their first year. I spoke with literally dozens of people going to and from the race over the course of it going on. They said that compared to what they have had to endure in other venues across the planet, COTA did a fantastic job. I have heard horrible stories of how long they wait and sometime miss the first part of a race after waiting and being transported longer than 3 hours, if not longer. It's not perfect but it's already better than many other venues. I am actually encouraged, sort of hopeful, that they realize the blunders, address them and actually do something to fix them. I am stoked to have a contact inside the team commissary tent now so I can eat my snacks and food with the drivers, engineers, crew and owners of the teams. I hope I don't drool on myself in awe.
Yup, they need to make the buses all have the same radios connected to one another or a central command. The onew with the most control was Metro and the UT Shuttles. All their radios are the same. The contracted buses may have had radio to one another or their dispatch but there were so few of them it didn't matter. We provided around 75 to 100 buses, the most of any one entity. Example: buses were not supposed to be in the left lane going down MLK and especially in the more residential area before getting to Airport when heading East. That way regular traffic had a lane without a massive bus tear-assing through. That did not happen. The contractors did what they wanted and again, accidents happened. I saw 2 happen with my own eyes and the remnants of a few others. This pissed to people off who live on the route enough to file protests to not have the buses travel this way next year. I have heard a few will protest or even have their car break down on the route to shut that way down. They supposedly have neighbors willing to do the same thing all weekend long. COTA needs to improve their public relations with people not attending or interested by the races yet impacted just the same.
We've been taking some different looks at COTA lately: COTA not meeting attendance projections. What's the remedy? The Link ...and... USGP Economic Impact vs Neighboring Races: COTA projects economic impact greater than combined impact of 3 similarly-sized GPs. But how? You might find their numbers interesting. Come to https://www.facebook.com/FoF1ATX & weigh in with your opinions. Story is pinned to the top.
