Glitter and friendship bracelets filled the parking lot of the Mission Viejo Metrolink Station as excited Taylor Swift fans got ready to board a community-initiated bus to SoFi Stadium.
The 120-mile roundtrip experience all started with social media — and an affinity for Swift, of course.
Costa Mesa resident Maggie O’Callaghan was browsing Facebook when she saw a post in a community group offering roundtrip rides throughout Swift’s six days at SoFi Stadium for just $35.
“Having this service is literally a miracle,” said O’Callaghan as she waited to board one of the two charter buses ready to take guests to the fourth night of Swift concerts on Monday, Aug. 7. “I honestly do not know what I would have done otherwise.”
The idea to charter buses and offer them up to the community came from Huntington Beach resident Tyler Brett. He and his friends were going to a Morgan Wallen concert on July 22 at SoFi and needed a reliable method of transportation.
The group could take charter one of the buses his company owns, Brett said, but they “would just need a lot more riders to make it happen.”
And with six nights of Swift at SoFi —and a bevy of excited and pink glitter-clad residents — Brett posted his idea on a local Facebook community forum. In a matter of minutes, people from all over Orange County wanted to take part in the charter bus era.
Getting to SoFi Stadium has been tough to navigate for many Southern California Swifties.
Jillian Hurin, from Mission Viejo, attended the first night Swift performed at SoFi. For Monday’s show, she shelled out the $35 and left her car at home.
“After hours of traffic on the 405, we finally got to the stadium and parked minutes before the openers were going on,” said Hurin. “Southern California traffic is no joke, but I am glad that this time I do not have to worry about the parking situation or driving myself to the concert.”
Brett estimates he will have moved over 500 Swifties to…
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