World Cup fans, NYC commuters brace for travel impacts during game day

It’s 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 are being urged to plan ahead. Officials are warning international soccer fans and New Yorkers alike not to drive around Midtown.   

The evening rush will coincide with the end of the 3 p.m. match between Senegal and France. 

Traffic is being impacted in Midtown Manhattan, with several streets around Penn Station closed off. Others will have 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 heading 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. More than 25,000 round-trip rail tickets were sold. 

Trains to MetLife 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.