NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) -- New Jersey Transit will charge World Cup fans riding to MetLife Stadium $150 for a roundtrip ticket, while service for regular commuters from New York’s Penn Station into New Jersey will suspend for four hours before a match, officials announced Friday.
The transit agency and the New York New Jersey Host Committee leaders outlined transportation details for the eight games that will be played at the stadium, including the final match on July 19. Officials are urging people who are not attending the event to work from home, especially on June 22 and June 30, when those matches will coincide with weekday evening rush hour.
Kris Kolluri, president and ceo of NJ Transit, during a news conference in Newark on Friday.Adam Gray/Bloomberg
Officials have mapped out security plans and service routes on different modes of public transportation in order to move 78,000 spectators to each game, Kris Kolluri, president and chief executive officer at NJ Transit, told reporters Friday. The NJ Transit’s World Cup tickets will go on sale on May 13.
Ticket costs for transportation to World Cup games have become a contentious issue in recent days. Earlier this week, Governor Kathy Hochul responded to reports of NJ Transit considering charging riders more than $100 for return train tickets, calling the price tag “awfully high.” New York Senator Chuck Schumer also called on FIFA to cover transportation costs for host cities and states.
Kolluri defended the $150 round-trip ticket on NJ Transit rail lines, saying that each event will cost to agency $6 million and that the higher-priced fare will cover the agency’s additional World Cup expenses.
“This isn’t profit making,” Kolluri said. “We’re not trying to gouge anyone.”
New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill wrote Friday in a post on X that she directed NJ Transit to provide discounts for riders impacted by service changes on June 22 and June 30.
“This is about striking the right balance,” she wrote. “We will showcase New Jersey on the world stage while protecting our residents, supporting our workforce and making sure the economic upside of this event is felt in communities across our state.”
The event will depend heavily on public transportation because MetLife won’t offer spectator parking on stadium property. FIFA officials decided for security reasons to suspend the stadium’s 23,000 parking spots.
“There will be no general spectator parking at MetLife Stadium,” Alex Lasry, chief executive officer of the host committee, told reporters. “This is what makes the World Cup so much different than any of the other major events that MetLife has put on, whether it’s a Super Bowl, a Taylor Swift concert, WrestleMania, you name it.”
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