Toll Of Commuting: Rally bus offers BYOB World Cup ride, undercutting NJ Transit
There are confirmed routes running from Woodbridge Center, Newark-Penn and Clifton’s Allwood park and ride for most of the games.
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Fans have said for weeks that New Jersey's World Cup transportation is too expensive. Others wonder why there’s no tailgating allowed. A crowd-sourced bus company is aiming to solve both issues, while undercutting NJ Transit.
With Axel Hellman’s bus rideshare company, Rally, customers can request a pickup point anywhere. The bus will come if the demand is large enough. Tickets start at $60.
COMPLETE COVERAGE: FIFA World Cup 2026 in New Jersey
“Any location with more than 15 people, we can serve," Hellman said. "And knowing how the World Cup is going to be, pretty much every hotel in northern New Jersey will probably have more than 15 people going to the game.”
Options to get to the FIFA World Cup are limited - a $98 NJ Transit train ticket or a $20 school bus shuttle from a Clifton park-and-ride. Rideshare is an option, but requires a lengthy walk and is subject to surge pricing. Parking at nearby American Dream mall is limited to 5,000 spots.
“The reason we have a transit problem is because they aren’t allowing any of the parking lots to be used for visitor parking," said Hellman. "It’s reserved all for media, teams and VIPs.”
There are confirmed Rally routes running from Woodbridge Center, Newark-Penn and Clifton’s Allwood park and ride for most of the games. Rally doesn’t own the buses. Most trips are charter buses; some are school buses. All the trips are BYOB - just no glass onboard.
“That's important because they aren’t allowing tailgating at the World Cup itself," Hellman said.
The NYNJ Host Committee shuttle operating out of Clifton will drop guests off at the stadium. A Rally bus requires a 15-20 minute walk from the drop-off point - likely using the new footbridges over Route 120.
“The parking lot will be either at the American Dream Mall, or at a private property nearby," Hellman said.
Rally will offer routes to all the host cities, but expects New Jersey and Massachusetts to see the biggest demand because their stadiums are in suburbs, not city centers.
“[New Jersey Transit] have said they have space for about 40,000 tickets," Hellman said. "There are 78,000 tickets to the game. Where are the other 38,000 people going to go?”
Rally bus tickets are refundable up to one week before the game.
