New Jersey Transit to reduce round-trip rail prices for World Cup events to $105

New Jersey Transit are to reduce their round-trip rail prices for World Cup events from $150 to $105 after securing sponsorship support which has enabled the price to be reduced by at least 30 per cent.

NJ Transit’s 18-mile journey from New York’s Pennsylvania Station to MetLife Stadium ordinarily costs $12.90 for a return ticket, but the price was hiked by more than eleven times for World Cup games at the venue.

The New Jersey governor Mikie Sherrill directed NJ Transit to ensure ordinary commuters will not carry the burden of the cost, meaning that the $48m cost of World Cup-related services to the agency would be transferred to World Cup ticketholders rather than local taxpayers.

The decision to raise the prices to $150, first reported by The Athletic, provoked considerable criticism and led to a row between Gov. Sherrill and FIFA.

Gov. Sherrill cited FIFA’s own claim that the World Cup organizer will make $11 billion from the World Cup, while asking host cities to carry the burden of public transportation and safety costs. FIFA signed a joint hosting agreement with New York City and New Jersey during the tenure of Sherrill’s predecessor Phil Murphy, in which New Jersey agreed to take on the costs.

Following the announcement, Sherrill once again said that “FIFA should cover the cost of transporting its fans… If it won’t, we will not be subsidizing World Cup ticket holders on the backs of New Jerseyans who rely on NJ Transit every day.”

Heimo Schirgi, Chief Operating Officer for FIFA World Cup 2026, accused NJ Transit of developing a pricing model which will have a “chilling effect”, which would “increase concerns of congestion, late arrivals, and creates broader ripple effects that ultimately diminish the economic benefit and lasting legacy the entire region stands to gain from hosting the World Cup.”

Now, however, NJ Transit have responded to the criticism as The Athletic can reveal that the agency, in collaboration with Gov. Sherill’s administration, has secured sponsorship support which has enabled them to bring down the price to $110 – without impacting costs for local commuters – and they are continuing to seek additional private funding assistance to cut the price further.

Rail tickets will go live on Wednesday, May 13 and will need to be booked in advance by supporters.

The decision to raise the prices provoked considerable criticism and led to a row between Gov. Sherrill and FIFA. (Photo: Philipp Schmidli/Getty Images)

In April, the New York City/New Jersey joint host committee for the World Cup also announced there would be an alternative bus service, which will cost passengers $80 per seat. There are no reduced prices for children, senior or disabled passengers, which is also the case for the NJ Transit rail service.

In the media briefing, the transportation plan forecast 40,000 passengers travelling by rail, 10,000 by bus, 6,000 by ride share options and then just over 20,000 being commercial-organized hospitality for FIFA-related hospitality, VIPs and affiliates.

Pricing for World Cup fans varies dramatically between World Cup cities. On the day of NJ Transit’s $150 price announcement in April, FIFA, deep in a public relations battle, distributed to the media a document that outlined some of the steps other host cities have taken to keep transit prices lower for fans during the World Cup.

Kansas City rolled out a gentler pricing plan, with the host committee offering complementary bus services for visitors to travel downtown from the airport during the World Cup. Matchday round-trip buses to the stadium will be available for $15, and drivers will collect and drop off fans from four different locations.

Philadelphia also announced that its SEPTA subway service will remain priced at $2.90 for fans to get to World Cup matches at Lincoln Financial Field, while the journey home will be free for fans due to a partnership between AirBnB and the Philadelphia host committee.

FIFA’s list also said Houston’s light rail will cost $2.50 for a round trip to the venue, and LA’s metro train will cost $3.50.

However, FIFA’s list did not include the Boston host committee’s pricing. MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority) took the decision to raise its pricing for travel from Boston to Foxboro’s Gillette Stadium to $80 for World Cup games, up from $20 for travel to an NFL game, sparking similar anger. It was also confirmed that Boston’s alternative bus service to the stadium would cost $95 per seat.

In that context, NJ Transit’s pricing will continue to appear expensive to many soccer fans. Sources at NJ Transit have previously explained that the overall cost to the agency to put on services for the eight games, and account for all the disruption to commuter services, will cost as much as $48 million to ferry fans to the suburban stadium.

The MetLife Stadium will host the World Cup final on July 19 (Photo: Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)

They say that FIFA’s security requirements are such that the games constitute the highest level security perimeter of any events hosted in New Jersey. While it is usually the case that around 10,000 fans per game go to a New York Jets or New York Giants game at MetLife via the rail service, NJ Transit is preparing for up to 40,000 supporters to use the service to get to the games this summer.

The importance of the rail service is also further ramped up because, while there are ordinarily over 20,0000 car parking spaces available for use at the venue, this number will be much lower during the tournament, owing to the security demands of the games. Sources at NJ Transit have consistently denied that their increased prices are a case of profiteering.

During the 2022 men’s World Cup in Qatar, official ticket-holders received free access to Doha’s metro system throughout the tournament. Similarly, at the 2024 European Championship in Germany, match-ticket holders also had access to free public transport on game day in host cities.

The U.S. was never likely to follow the lead on this, with cities and states seeking to recover huge investments into the World Cup via the proposed economic impact of the tournament.