Transportation and safety are at the top of the minds of officials as Fredericton prepares for the weekend's East Coast Music Awards.

Fredericton police will be ramping on their presence in the capital city's downtown core during the four-day event from Thursday to Sunday, said Chief Barry MacKnight.

The force will be moving several officers who usually patrol the north side of the city across the river and into the downtown, MacKnight said.

About four additional officers will also be on duty during the music events, he said.

With ECMA venue bars extending their last call to 3 a.m. for the weekend, police will be on the lookout for any late-night trouble, MacKnight said.

"The bars are open a little bit longer and we're not blind to the impact that has," he said. "That does cause us some grief from time to time so we'll have enough staff to sort that out."

Fredericton Tourism will be running a free shuttle service between the ECMA venues. Officials predict about 40,000 spectators will use the service as Fredericton hosts the festival for the first time.

But it's not stopping taxi companies from being available to anyone trying to hail a cab, said George Youssef, owner of Checker Cab.

"If you want to wait 15 minutes — you can wait 15 minutes — but if it's cold outside right now — I wouldn't be waiting five minutes," Youssef said. "I'm hoping it's not cold and everyone will enjoy the event but on the other hand, I'm hoping it's freezing and everyone will call us."

The ECMAs honour the best in music from the Atlantic region.

A special concert celebrating the event's 20th anniversary will take place Saturday.

The celebration ends with the awards gala at the Aitken Centre on Sunday.