NJ Transit sets $150 World Cup train fare, stirs backlash

At a time when the World Cup is supposed to open the region to more people, NJ Transit has set a $150 round-trip train fare to MetLife Stadium, turning a basic ride into a public-access test. The ticket, limited to World Cup match holders, will go on sale May 13 and will cost far more than the normal $12.90 Penn Station-to-MetLife trip.

The agency’s alternative is an $80 round-trip shuttle bus, also restricted to World Cup ticket holders. Those buses will run from the Port Authority Bus Terminal, Midtown East near Grand Central, and Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. NJ Transit said the rail and bus tickets will be non-transferable and non-refundable, and will not be sold at station ticket offices or vending machines. Anyone traveling from New York City will have to board at Penn Station, while riders coming from other parts of New Jersey will be assigned specific boarding windows.

NJ Transit and the FIFA World Cup 2026™ New York New Jersey Host Committee said the mobility plan is designed to move more than 78,000 spectators per match at New York New Jersey Stadium, the World Cup name for MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. The stadium will host eight matches, including the final on July 19, and no general spectator parking will be available on match days. NJ Transit said it expects to offer 40,000 round-trip rail tickets and 10,000 shuttle bus tickets for each match, with the added transportation plan carrying an estimated $48 million cost.

That price tag is driving the backlash. The $150 rail fare is roughly 12 times the regular fare, a jump some critics have described as 1,062 percent. Gov. Mikie Sherrill has argued that FIFA should cover transportation costs instead of New Jersey taxpayers bearing the burden, saying the state inherited an agreement that left it on the hook. FIFA chief operating officer Heimo Schirgi called the pricing unprecedented and said it could create a “chilling effect.”

NJ Transit chair Priya Jain said the tournament is an opportunity to showcase the region’s transportation network, and the mobility plan was coordinated with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the New Jersey Department of Transportation, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and Amtrak. For fans without deep pockets, and for workers trying to get to and from one of the world’s biggest sporting events, the question is less about celebration than access: whether a taxpayer-linked mega-event should be moved by crowd control, revenue generation or a fare that prices people out.