Cheaper buses to NYC World Cup matches revealed, along with transit security plan: "No city is better prepared"
With the FIFA World Cup 2026 a little more than a week away, Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber unveiled a massive transportation security plan Thursday to make sure the games are the best they can be.
Their message? There will be more police officers, trains and buses that are affordable as the Big Apple prepares to welcome soccer fans from all over the world.
"We're used to this intensity. We're used to this traffic. Our police are the best. Our MTA team is the best. We know how to handle this. So I want to reassure New Yorkers that this is not something that's going to catch us by surprise," Hochul said.
The governor, Mamdani and MTA officials discussed the plans to welcome more than 1 million visitors to New York City, and to ensure they can travel easily around the region.
"No city is better prepared than New York," Hochul said.
Cheaper buses, and more of them
On the affordability front, round-trip World Cup bus tickets will now be just $20, and 20% of them will be reserved for New York residents. The total number of bus seats has been increased from an initial 10,000 to 12,000 on school days, and 18,000 on non-school days when matches take place.
Mamdani encouraged people to take the subway, buses, walk or bike to their destinations rather than drive. He reiterated the number of changes being implemented regarding street traffic, including special bus lanes, changes at Penn Station and delivery restrictions.
"New Yorkers should plan for increased congestion and traffic delays, especially in Manhattan," Mamdani said.
On match days, two dedicated bus and shuttle lanes along Fifth and Sixth avenues will run between 42nd and 59th streets and will be reserved for official New York-New Jersey stadium shuttle buses, as well as local MTA buses.
Both 40th and 41st streets on the West Side will be designated bus and shuttle docks.
To keep everything moving, major construction projects will be paused citywide and truck deliveries will be prohibited in Midtown.
"From six hours before matches kick off, until three hours after each match concludes, truck deliveries will be restricted between 30th and 60th streets. Smaller vehicles will be exempt, as will Jalen Brunson," Mamdani said.
Subways and trains
Officials said the mass transit system is ready.
"This is not something that we just started getting into in the last few weeks. This has been going on for quite some time," Lieber said.
Lieber said more subway trains will be running into Penn Station on match days, including those on the C, 1 and F lines. The MTA will also be running more 7 trains for fans to reach the watch parties and events in Queens.
C and 1 trains will be increased all day on weekend match days between 10 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. In addition, C, 1 and F train service will be increased for post-match travel.
While the LIRR will be running normally, Lieber said riders should consider going into Atlantic Terminal or Grand Central on match days to avoid large crowds.
Both the LIRR and Metro-North will provide connections to the shuttle bus service near Grand Central and trains to the matches at Penn Station.
"I'm confident that the MTA team is up to the task. New York always has a buzz," Lieber said.
NJ Transit service is also being adjusted, while LIRR, Metro-North and PATH are expected to operate normally.
Round-trip tickets on NJ Transit cost $98, below the original $150 price tag.
A source familiar with the planning told CBS News New York's Marcia Kramer that fans using trains from Penn Station to get to MetLife Stadium will also have to go through weapons detections systems before they board, and not just at Penn Station.
"They are going to be screening not only there, but also at the bus location, shuttle bus pickup locations at Columbus Circle, at Grand Central, and Port Authority. So they are working with those organizations and entities, working directly with counterterrorism and the NYPD to make sure that whatever screening is required from a counterterrorist standpoint is being enforced in those locations," said Dawn Tolson, executive director of the Mayor's Office of Citywide Event Coordination and Management & Street Safety.
Security will be tight
"We are ready for this moment, because we are New York. We know, as the governor said, how to put on big events," Mamdani said.
The MTA has been working with local partners throughout the year to beef up World Cup security, including conducting in-person training and tabletop exercises.
Office of Emergency Management Commissioner Christina Farrell said her team has been planning for more than a year for the big event.
"We have participated in more than 30 interagency tabletop exercises that simulated everything from blackouts and sudden crowd surges to flash flooding and coastal storms," Farrell said.
One of the largest training exercises took place at Moynihan Train Hall.
New Yorkers can expect to see an increased police presence on match days and at special events like watch parties. Counter-drone equipment will also be deployed. It's all part of the added terrorist protections to ensure that cyber systems and critical infrastructure are safe from what officials call "bad actors."
"Anti-terrorism overlay"
With wars happening around the globe and the threat of geopolitical retaliation a concern, Hochul, Mamdani and transit officials have added extra protections to safeguard World Cup fans, and they're taking nothing for granted. Law enforcement experts call it the "anti-terrorism overlay."
"Our cyber analysts and experts are focused on this with every fiber in their being. They know this is a vulnerable time, but a time where we do not want to have people have to change their behaviors," Hochul said.
The governor, the mayor, police and transit officials have plans to protect critical infrastructure targets, including the George Washington Bridge, the Lincoln and Holland tunnels, and all the East River crossings.
"We work as a team with the city and share intelligence. We're also going to be deploying drones to safeguard critical locations across the transit system, including our bridges and tunnels," Hochul said.
