Officials recommend commuters using NJ Transit work from home during World Cup
by Brad Matthews · The Washington TimesOfficials are recommending that commuters using transit to get between New Jersey and New York City during the World Cup work from home on match days.
“If you are not attending one of the events, please work from home because the city will be incredibly congested and so will New Jersey,” Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which is working with NJ Transit on World Cup transportation, said at a press conference on April 23.
MetLife Stadium, the New Jersey home of the New York Giants and New York Jets, in East Rutherford, New Jersey, 7.8 miles northwest of New York City, is hosting eight World Cup matches:
— Brazil vs. Morocco group stage match at 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 13
— France vs. Senegal group stage match at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, June 16
— Norway vs. Senegal group stage match at 8 p.m. on Monday, June 22
— Ecuador vs. Germany group stage match at 4 p.m. on Thursday, June 25
— Panama vs. England group stage match at 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 27
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— Round of 32 match at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 30
— Round of 16 match at 4 p.m. on Sunday, July 5
— World Cup final at 3 p.m. on Sunday, July 19
The state-owned NJ Transit system is in charge of transporting attendees from Penn Station in Manhattan to the stadium.
On game days, it will limit rail service between Penn Station and the Secaucus Junction station exclusively to attendees, starting four hours before kickoff, NJ Transit said in a release last month.
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Fans heading to the games will then transfer from Secaucus Junction to trains going to the stadium, while fans attending from New Jersey will “purchase mobile tickets for specific time periods to board trains to the stadium,” NJ Transit said.
The transit agency is offering only 40,000 rail tickets to each game, which have to be bought in advance, for $150 round-trip. By comparison, the normal price for such a trip is $12.90.
In addition, for three hours after matches, trains from New Jersey on NJ Transit that would normally go all the way to Penn Station will instead end at the Newark station; to get to New York City, they’ll need to transfer to a PATH train operated by the Port Authority.
As a result, officials are recommending that commuters rely on the route to stay home.
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NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri previously indicated last month that employers had been asked to let employees work from home, according to NJ.com.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.