SEPTA announces plan for 2026 FIFA World Cup service in Philadelphia. Here's what to know.
Free subway rides home and overnight service on match days are just part of SEPTA's plan to help fans get to and from the 2026 FIFA World Cup games at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
SEPTA on Monday announced its plans for the six World Cup matches in Philadelphia and the fan festival at Lemon Hill.
With the first match less than a month away, here's what the public transit agency has in store for soccer's ultimate stage.
SEPTA announces additional service for World Cup, fan festival
The transit agency says extra service will be offered for both FIFA World Cup matches at the Linc and for the FIFA Fan Festival at Lemon Hill in Fairmount Park.
Extra B (formerly the Broad Street Line) subways will be offered for each match, SEPTA says.
On match days, SEPTA will run overnight service on both the B and El (formerly the Market-Frankford Line) lines. Trains will run every 30 minutes to select stations, according to SEPTA.
To service the fan festival, SEPTA says additional buses will run on Routes 32 and 48 and provide frequent weekday trips every 15 minutes or less from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. Those two buses serve the Lemon Hill area.
SEPTA says ridership is expected to surpass about 31,000 for each match, and it believes it can take 15,000 people per hour on the B line with its extra service.
How much does it cost to take SEPTA to the World Cup?
Some good news and even better news for soccer fans in Philadelphia.
The good news: SEPTA isn't raising its prices for World Cup matches. The transit agency is keeping its regular fare of $2.90.
The better news: Free B rides home from NRG Station will begin at halftime and continue for two hours after each match.
How do I pay for SEPTA?
Long gone are the days of tokens (pour one out), but paying for a SEPTA ride is easy. If you have a SEPTA Key card, you can tap it and go about your day. If not, it's even easier: you can use your phone or credit or debit cards.
SEPTA has contactless payments, meaning on all its services, commuters can tap their credit or debit cards or mobile wallet to pay for their rides. Recently, the transit agency introduced a new feature allowing for contactless payment to pay for fares for up to five riders at a time.
Cash is also an option, but riders must have the exact amount for a fare, according to SEPTA's website.
What FIFA World Cup games are being played in Philadelphia?
The Philadelphia area's busy sports year on the national (and international) stage continues with the World Cup. The PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square just concluded and Philly hosted NCAA Tournament games in March.
Philadelphia will also host the 2026 MLB All-Star Game and Home Run Derby in July, but up first is the World Cup. Philly will host six matches: five in group play and then one in the Round of 16 on the Fourth of July.
Here's the schedule for the Philadelphia matches — the first one is just 27 days away as of publication.
- Sunday, June 14: Côte d'Ivoire vs. Ecuador, 7 p.m.
- Friday, June 19: Brazil vs. Haiti, 8:30 p.m.
- Monday, June 22: France vs. Iraq 5 p.m.
- Thursday, June 25: Curaçao vs. Côte d'Ivoire, 4 p.m.
- Saturday, June 27: Croatia vs. Ghana, 5 p.m.
- Saturday, July 4: To be determined
