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Haunted Happenings report: MBTA weekend ridership rose 58% in 2024; city to consider shuttle and vendor changes
Summary
At a committee report, city staff and partners briefed councilors on the 2024 Haunted Happenings season, noting a 58% weekend ridership increase on the MBTA and a rebid of a food/beverage contract that reduces the footprint of the Fiesta vendor.
The council received and filed the annual Haunted Happenings report at the May 8 meeting, where staff and destination partners summarized operations, ridership, vendor arrangements and resident concerns from the 2024 season.
Councilor Watson Feld, reporting for the Committee on Economic Development, said the mayor, police and fire chiefs, the assistant transportation director, the special events manager, the public services director and Destination Salem attended the committee meeting. Staff presented statistics and answered public questions about tour-bus scale and public safety, porta-potty locations, and damage to Salem Common.
Two notable items in the report: Destination Salem and MBTA data showed a 58% increase in weekend MBTA ridership in October 2024 compared with October 2023 (73,804 weekend passengers), and the city rebid the Fiesta food-and-beverage contract. The new contract reduced Fiesta's footprint and opened space for more local vendors. Councilors also discussed shuttle service costs, locations of light towers and additional road closures; the police and fire departments were praised for public-safety planning.
The committee recommended the report be received and filed; the council approved that recommendation.
