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Manhattan's 42nd Street to be bus-only on World Cup match days
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published May 29, 2026
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Kai Moorschlatt/picture alliance via Getty Images
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published May 29, 2026
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The city will convert 42nd Street into a bus-only corridor and block traffic on streets around Penn Station during World Cup match days to prevent congestion, the Mamdani administration announced Friday.
City officials detailed their plan to handle the influx of an estimated 1.2 million visitors into the New York and New Jersey area, urging locals to avoid driving through Midtown on eight match days at MetLife Stadium in June and July.
"Whether you’re heading to the stadium for a match, the park for a pick-up game or the office like any other day, our streets will work for everyone," Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement.
There will be two preferred ways for World Cup ticketholders to get to the stadium: by taking $98 round-trip rides on NJ Transit trains from Penn Station, or $20 shuttle buses that make pickups at Grand Central Terminal, Columbus Circle and the Port Authority Bus Terminal.
Under the new plan, 42nd Street between First and 12th avenues will only serve World Cup shuttles and MTA buses. Cars will be banned along the street for six hours before a match and three hours after. The car ban will be extended to six hours before the championship match on July 19.
West 40th Street between 8th and 11th avenues and West 41st Street between 8th and 10th avenues will also be open only to buses.
NYC Mayor's Office
The Mamdani administration said this will allow shuttle buses to have an express, nonstop route to the games.
The city will also temporarily convert the two easternmost traffic lanes along Sixth Avenue between 42nd and 59th Streets to bus-only lanes. Officials said the move will speed up traffic and prevent crowding around Midtown.
At Penn Station, fans headed to MetLife will have to validate their World Cup and NJ Transit tickets before entering the train hall. The city will create a queue outside the station up to four hours before each match, blocking off traffic at 33rd Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues and 32nd Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues.
NYC Mayor's Office
“This plan will also help ensure the vast majority of ticketholders will be able to get to matches seamlessly by mass transit, without driving or adding excessive congestion to our streets,” DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn said in a statement.
Mamdani will also activate a gridlock alert day during each match, which urges New Yorkers to walk, bike or take mass transit instead of driving in anticipation of busy traffic.
Deliveries by trucks will also be restricted in Manhattan between 30th and 60th streets, from the East River to the Hudson River, for up to six hours before a game and three hours after. The restriction won’t apply to smaller delivery vehicles like cars, vans and cargo bikes, and emergency or service vehicles.
Tagged
manhattan
transportation
Ramsey Khalifeh
Ramsey Khalifeh is a transportation reporter on the NYC Accountability desk covering the largest transit system in the country. He was previously a general assignment reporter at Gothamist and worked on the Boston Globe's metro and copy desk. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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