In response to Burning Man’s growing traffic issues, GOAL was contracted to develop a mass transit busing solution to alleviate pressure on Highway 447.
Burning Man is a global arts event that takes place in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. For 9 days, 70,000 participants from around the globe come together to create a city in one of the harshest climates in the world. With no real infrastructure, attendees are forced to be radically self reliant and account for all of their own food, water, shelter and power needs.
With some much needed gear, those 70,000 people however come in 35,000 different cars. The two-lane highway leading up to what becomes Black Rock City can only handle 700 cars per hour. That’s 50 hours to get all of the vehicles in and 50 hours to get them out. With no viable way to increase the capacity of Highway 447, GOAL was tasked with reducing the number of vehicles on the road without decreasing the population size. Our answer was The Burner Express.
The Burner Express offers long distance bus transportation to Burning Man from around the country. With pick-ups in major cities across the West, the Burner Express has become the premier way to get to Burning Man. We take the hassle out of driving and offer express entry to our riders. We are also greening the event as each bus removes 25 cars from the road. Last year, the Burner Express gave over 9000 rides and is expected to increase to 20,000 riders in the coming years on nearly 500 buses.
GOAL provides all of the planning and logistical support in developing this mass transit network including organizing cargo trucks that follow the buses with attendee gear, developing the bus schedules, orchestrating pick-up points at airports and urban centers, managing a bus depot within Black Rock City, coordinating on-site satellite buses to disperse riders throughout the city upon arrival, developing all marketing material, and working with various Burning Man departments to ensure the program is seamlessly incorporated into the event. The Burner Express team also handles all trash and recycling for bus passengers, and in 2016 implemented a water sales program that distributed over 15,000 gallons of water to riders.