The New York\/New Jersey host committee has slashed the cost of its FIFA World Cup shuttle bus service to MetLife Stadium by 75 percent, reducing the fare for fans from $80 to $20 during the tournament.<\/p>\n
The committee had previously committed to providing 10,000 bus seats for fans travelling to games at MetLife, but has now increased its inventory by hiring classic American yellow school buses.<\/p>\n
There will be 18,000 bus seats available for the five World Cup games at MetLife, including the World Cup final on July 19, that do not take place on school days. There will be 12,000 seats available for the three group stage games at MetLife that fall on weekdays before the school year ends.<\/p>\n
The Athletic\u00a0can reveal that New York State, led by Governor Kathy Hochul, has invested $6 million to help bring down prices, and fans who have already purchased $80 tickets will receive $60 refunds to bring their ticket cost down to $20. As a condition of the investment, Hochul told The Athletic that \u201caround 20 percent\u201d of bus tickets will be reserved exclusively for New York state residents who have purchased match tickets, ensuring the funding brings value to local taxpayers. According to those with knowledge of tickets purchased for games at MetLife Stadium, around 25-30 percent have been bought by residents of the New York\/New Jersey region.<\/p>\n
The investment by New York State was accompanied by an intervention by Highland Fleets, an American company that manages some of the largest electric school bus fleets. After witnessing the response to the original ticket pricing, Highland reached out to the office of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, asking how they might be able to support the event and help reduce costs. The mayor\u2019s office, in turn, put Highland in touch with the New York Governor\u2019s office and Alex Lasry, the chief executive of the joint New York\/New Jersey host committee. Highland then worked with New York City School Bus Umbrella Services to secure the increased number of buses, with around 300 in total set to be in use on the busiest matchdays.<\/p>\n
The buses to MetLife will depart from three Manhattan locations; Port Authority Bus Terminal, a Midtown East location east of Grand Central Terminal and a Midtown North location west of Central Park.<\/p>\n
Speaking to The Athletic, Highland chief operating officer Ben Schutzman said Highland\u2019s goal of creating \u201caffordable and accessible\u201d bus services was in line with the objective of bringing down transport provisions during the World Cup.<\/p>\n
Upon helping to secure the bus price reductions, a spokesman for Mayor Mamdani said: \u201cMayor Mamdani\u00a0supports any effort that makes transportation more affordable for New Yorkers \u2014 including reduced-cost buses for World Cup ticketholders. We look forward to rolling out additional free and affordable events to ensure that all New Yorkers can enjoy the World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n
The NJ Transit price has also come down since first announced a month ago at $150. New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill had directed NJ Transit to ensure ordinary New Jersey commuters would not carry the burden of the cost, meaning the $48 million cost of World Cup-related services to the agency would be transferred to World Cup ticket-holders rather than local taxpayers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks to FIFA-related advertising revenue, higher-than-anticipated non-FIFA advertising revenue and additional federal grants, NJ Transit has cut the FIFA round-trip ticket from $150 to $98 \u2014 keeping Gov. Mikie Sherrill\u2019s pledge not to pass on costs onto commuters or New Jersey taxpayers,\u201d said Kris Kolluri, President & CEO of NJ Transit.<\/p>\n