Launch the Boats: Ferry Solution Floated to Beat $150 World Cup Train Fares

As soccer fans remain in an uproar over inflated NJ Transit fare prices during the upcoming World Cup, local politicians have proposed an alternative, low-priced route by sea as a way to reach Met Life stadium and avoid the $150 fare that NJ Transit plans to charge.

“We can’t control what New Jersey does, but we can control what New York does,” Upper West Side City Council Member Shaun Abreu said; he hopes to start ferry service from a pier in West Harlem by June 21, when the tournament begins. The pier was built in 2009, but is not currently used for regular ferry service, and Abreu wants it continue as a safety valve for regular commuters.

He was joined by Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who said that a new ferry service could help to ease some of the automobile traffic congestion across the UWS.

The proposed new ferry service could shoot across the Hudson River to Edgewater, NJ in ten minutes, saving soccer fans time and as well as money.

The sky high price of transportation being charged by NJ Transit to reach the eight games that will be played in Met Life stadium has triggered outrage on both sides of the Hudson. A typical New Jersey transit ticket costs $12.50, meaning that tournament attendees who take the train will effectively be paying over 1,000 percent more than usual, or more than eleven times as much.

Abreu—who serves as the Democratic Majority Leader on the City Council—says that the ferry route is very simple, shooting fans from W. 125th Street to the New Jersey city of Edgewater, located directly across the Hudson River. Fans would still have to find a way from the Jersey pier to the stadium.

The pier on the NJ is already being used by ferry commuters. Currently, the private ferry company NY Waterway has a route that connects W. 39th Street to Edgewater, which costs around $12 and often takes a bit more than 10 minutes.

In order to make the proposal a feasible reality, Abreu says that the City’s Economic Development Corporation—which awarded the contract for the 38 vessel New York City Ferry operated by Hornblower—should apply for federal funds to bolster the route, with grant proposals to that end due on May 11. Abreu said he has also been in talks with NY Waterway to gauge their interest.

“If we launch this boat in time for the World Cup, it’s gonna clear up a lot of congestion in West Harlem,” Hoylman-Sigal said, at the April 24 press conference.

“For fans, it would allow them to bypass bridges and tunnels. It would relieve congestion at the George Washington Bridge, for instance,” Abreu added.

The World Cup will run until July 19. Eight matches (including the finals) will be held at MetLife Stadium, in East Rutherford, NJ, which FIFA is forcing to be renamed the NYNJ Stadium while the World Cup is taking place.

Parking will not be available at the stadium, with spots at the nearby American Dream Mall going for $225. Limited seats on shuttle buses headed to the stadium will cost $80, with a total of 40,000 train tickets and 10,000 bus tickets per match.

There’s also a catch for regular commuters who use NJ Transit, too, since regular commuters will be barred from the trains for four hours before and after each match.

NJ Transit says that they anticipate $48 million in World Cup-related operating costs, and therefore say that must pass that burden onto tournament attendees in the form of the pricier tickets.

New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherill has since said that FIFA itself should pay for these fares, while New York Governor Kathy Hochul called the fees “awfully high.” New York Senator Chuck Schumer, meanwhile, echoed Sherill’s call to make FIFA pick up the tab.

“While NJ TRANSIT is stuck with a $48 million bill to safely get fans to and from games, FIFA is making $11 billion. I’m not going to stick New Jersey commuters with that tab for years to come,” Sherill wrote on social media.

“Charging more than eleven times the normal fare for a train ride is a ripoff, plain and simple. FIFA is making billions from this World Cup, and fans are being hit with a $150 ticket before they even walk through the gate,” Schumer said.

Despite the uproar, FIFA has so far rejected any suggestion that it should cover the hugely inflated fare that NJ Transit is charging.

A ferry service for World Cup games is also being proposed in Seattle, while fans in Boston are similarly being hit with quadrupled fare prices of $80 during the tournament. Officials in Dallas, Houston, and Atlanta—which are among the tournament’s other host cities—currently say that there are no plans to hike transit fares for fans during games.

“FIFA is not aware of any other major event previously held at NYNJ Stadium, including other major sports, global concert tours, etc., where organizers were required to pay for fan transportation,” a spokesperson for the association told the press.