NJ Transit fights to defend $150 tickets for 9-mile World Cup trip: ‘It’s not price gouging’

The fans are trying to get there MetLife The stadium from New York City can expect to spend $150 for round-trip train fares for each game, transportation officials confirmed Friday.

That’s about 12 times the regular $12.90 fare for the roughly 15-minute, 9-mile (14-kilometer) trip from Manhattan’s Penn Station to the stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. On-site parking is not available for most fans, so New Jersey officials expect about 40,000 fans to use mass transit for each game.

The home stadium for the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets is set to host eight World Cup games, including the final tournament on July 19. Group stage matches for soccer powerhouses Brazil, France, Germany and England, along with other countries, will begin on June 13.

New Jersey officials said the upcharge was necessary to cover the cost of hosting the World Cup when it returned to the US for the first time since 1994.

NJ Transit officials said they plan to spend $62 million to transport fans to and from the stadium for the duration of the tournament. Outside grants covered only $14 million of those expected costs. A fare increase is needed to cover the rest, according to NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri.

“This is not a price increase,” he told reporters on Friday. “We’re literally trying to recoup our costs.”

Gov. Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat, called on FIFA, international soccer’s governing body, to cover the cost of transportation.

“Otherwise, we wouldn’t be subsidizing World Cup ticket holders on the backs of New Jerseyans who rely on NJ TRANSIT every day,” he said in a statement.

But FIFA was furious at the suggestion that it should bear the cost of the trip to New Jersey. On Friday, it pointed to other US host cities, including Los Angeles, Dallas and Houston, which kept their travel rates unchanged.

Transportation prices in Boston are also high

One notable exception is Boston, where express buses from various locations to Gillette Stadium, home of the NFL’s New England Patriots, will cost $95, officials announced this week.

Thousands of fans have also secured $80 round-trip train tickets from the Massachusetts capital to the commuter rail station near the stadium, located in Foxborough, a town about 30 miles (48 kilometers) from Boston. That’s four times the $20 riders are typically charged for a round-trip ticket on game days and other Gillette special events.

Meanwhile in Los Angeles, the one-way fare will remain $1.75; in Atlanta, they are locked at $2.50; in Houston, a ride will still cost $1.25 and in Philadelphia the base subway fare will remain at $2.90. Kansas City runs shuttles from locations around the city to Arrowhead Stadium for a fee Only $15 round trip.

Some of the cities noted that the US government provided some $100 million in transit grants to provide improved bus and rail services during the games.

FIFA says fare hike ‘does nothing’

The soccer federation warned Friday that transit pricing in New Jersey could have a “chilling effect.”

It argued that no other global event had been asked to absorb the costs of “arbitrarily fixed” travel prices and noted that the agreements signed by the hosts of the World Cup in 2018 called for free transportation for fans at all games.

“High fares will inevitably push fans to alternative transport options,” FIFA said in a statement. “This increases the concerns of overcrowding, late arrivals, and creates wider impacts that will ultimately reduce the economic benefits and lasting legacy that the entire region will get from hosting the World Cup.”

The large fare increase also drew protest from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.

“Charging over $100 for a short train ride seems too high to me,” the Democrat posted. in X earlier this week. The price increase is first reported via sports outlet The Athletic.

Some other options

The alternatives to taking the train to MetLife Stadium are also expensive.

Shuttle buses with capacity for about 10,000 riders depart from the midtown Manhattan bus terminal and other locations for $80 roundtrip.

About 5,000 parking spaces at the nearby American Dream Mall are also being sold in advance, currently priced at $225.

MetLife Stadium has a large parking lot, but for World Cup games most of that space is used for a fan village, shuttle buses, a game area and FIFA staff, officials said.

When the stadium hosted the NFL’s Super Bowl under similar conditions in 2014, New Jersey Transit struggled to accommodate the estimated 33,000 passengers who left the game. The platforms of a train transfer station are filled with passengers who cannot get a seat on the trains. Others waited for hours to board.

___

AP Sports Writer Mark Long in Gainesville, Florida, contributed to this report.