Not Enough People Are Taking NJ Transit To The World Cup

SECAUCUS, NJ — The highways around MetLife stadium were brought to a traffic standstill Saturday night after the first World Cup match, Brazil vs. Morocco.

The game started at 6 p.m. and ended shortly after 8. But the traffic gridlock lasted for hours afterwards. One news outlet reported that some World Cup fans were not able to get out of the stadium until after midnight, as Rt. 3 east was severely backed up into New York City.

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"Rt. 3 was a total mess," said Secaucus Mayor Mike Gonnelli. (Rt. 3 runs through his town.) "They expected a lot of fans to stay for after-parties in the parking lots, and that did not happen."

Also, not enough people took the train, likely because NJ Transit is charging $98 for a round-trip ticket from Penn station, said Christine Giordano Hanlon, chairwoman of the New Jersey Republican Party.

That price point is unreachable for many World Cup fans, she said. The result? World Cup fans took Uber, Lyft or buses.

And it was those ride-share vehicles and buses that clogged Rt. 3 Saturday night.

“This was entirely predictable,” Hanlon told CentralJerseyWire. “When you price families out of public transit and fail to coordinate basic logistics, you don’t get success. You get gridlock.”

"It was poorly planned," Gonnelli agreed Tuesday.

NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri admitted to NJ.com that his transit agency only sold 25,797 tickets to the France vs. Senegal game on Tuesday, far fewer than the 40,000 tickets his agency hoped to sell for each game.

And Secaucus businesses have not seen the revenue spike many had hoped for.

"It really hasn't been anything beyond the usual," said Manny Patel, manager of the Krauszer's on Meadowlands Parkway. He hasn't seen the business uptick that usually accompanies NFL games at MetLife, as fans load up on alcohol and food at his store, and then tailgate for hours in the stadium parking lots.

When FIFA brought the World Cup to America, they made the unusual decision to have no parking at MetLife stadium.

"The biggest mistake they made was closing down the parking lots around the stadium," said Patel. "Secaucus got shut out. Everyone is going from Manhattan straight to the game, and skipping over town. All the businesses in town are saying this."

Also, regular NJ Transit commuters are locked out of Secaucus Junction train station on game days: You cannot use Secaucus Junction for three hours before and three hours after matches unless you have a World Cup ticket.

NJ Transit is asking commuters to work from home on World Cup game days.

And if you are taking NJ Transit to a World Cup game, you must purchase tickets in advance, on NJTransit's new mobile app. NJ Transit will not have any tickets for sale at train stations or ticket vending machines.

World Cup Overhyped, NJ Hotel Owner Says, As Hotels Report Fewer Than Expected Bookings (June 9)