World Cup fans, NYC commuters deal with travel impacts during match day
By Elijah Westbrook, Christine Sloan, Ali Bauman
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NEW YORK CITY, New York (WCBS) — It was a Gridlock Alert Day in New York City for the second 2026 Men’s World Cup match at MetLife Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.
World Cup fans and New York City commuters were urged to plan ahead. Officials warned international soccer fans and New Yorkers alike not to drive around Midtown.
The evening rush coincided with the end of the 3 p.m. match between Senegal and France.
Traffic was impacted in Midtown Manhattan, with several streets around Penn Station closed off. Others had restricted access throughout the day, until 8 p.m.
NJ Transit service at Penn Station was reserved for ticketholders for several hours before the match to accommodate the crowd. Non-ticketholders needed to take an alternate route.
Thousands headed home at the same time
Commuters at Penn Station on Tuesday morning said they expected crowded conditions later, but some were optimistic after Saturday’s opening match went smoother than expected.
“I feel NJ Transit is going to be prepared for it. They’ve been planning this for a long time, and I think everything should work out fine,” said one rider.
“It’s going to be hectic. But you gotta do what you gotta do…at the end of the day, it is what it is,” said commuter Anindita Holder.
Fans urged to use NJ Transit Officials have been urging fans attending the matches at MetLife to arrive early and purchase transportation tickets. It’s also recommended to use mass transit and avoid non-essential driving.
Tuesday was true test for NJ Transit, one it believed it passed with flying colors. Officials said it carried 26,000 people from MetLife on its rail and bus system in approximately 70 minutes.
“Everyone was there like helping people get through. The police were really good. It was really easy,” one fan said.
The train to the stadium were up and running hours before kickoff.
“We saw a significant number of ticketgoers buying their tickets for mass transit just in the hours before the game,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said. “We’d also say that there continues to be additional capacity on NJ Transit, and so for those who have yet to buy their tickets, that is one way that we are going to encourage them to do so.”
Official stadium shuttle buses were completely sold out.
Some fans shelled out $250 for parking at the American Dream mall and walked through a tunnel to MetLife, while others hoofed it to the stadium. Restaurants inside the American Dream were expected to stay open through midnight.
Commuters were cautioned to brace themselves for longer travel times throughout the region.
The impact was expected to be so significant that Jersey City Public Schools dismissed students at 12:45 p.m. to avoid the afternoon traffic crunch.
The first World Cup match at MetLife on Saturday brought more than 80,000 fans, with 21,000 of them taking trains and buses. But it also bought severe gridlock, with many fans stranded. Even rideshare apps could not handled the surge, and that was over the weekend.
Adi Guajardo contributed to this report.
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