Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 7
Writers Test 4.5-Mile Walk to MetLife as World Cup Transit Fare Hits $98
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 7

Writers Test 4.5-Mile Walk to MetLife as World Cup Transit Fare Hits $98

2 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 7

Summary

  • $98 round-trip NJ Transit fares from Penn Station to MetLife Stadium pushed writer Alex Wolfe and photographer Tom Wilson to test whether fans could walk instead for the 2026 World Cup.
  • The pair started with a ferry to Weehawken because pedestrians cannot use the Lincoln Tunnel, then headed north through West New York, Guttenberg and North Bergen toward the stadium.
  • Alex Lasry, chief executive of the New York New Jersey Host Committee, urged fans not to walk, saying it could endanger pedestrians, drivers and law enforcement.
  • MetLife will host eight World Cup matches, including the final, while other access costs are also steep: parking could run as high as $225 after transit pricing was cut from an initially planned $150.

Insights

Officials call the 4.5-mile walk to MetLife dangerous. Is the real danger the roads or the $98 train tickets?
With FIFA refusing to pay, who will foot the $50 million bill for New Jersey's World Cup transit?