Uber will offer shuttle rides as an affordable option for football/soccer fans watching this year’s FIFA World Cup games at four match venues in the US. Specifically, the company will run shuttle services for the stadiums in New York-New Jersey, Boston, Miami and Dallas, providing fans with an easy way to get back to their homes or their hotels. Uber shuttles to and from the stadium will only be available in Miami. In the other three locations, the company will only be offering shuttles to leave the venues.
To get a slot on an Uber Shuttle, customers will have to book a seat in advance, even if it’s on the day of the match. They just have to tap the shuttle icon in-app, pay a flat-rate fare and then present the QR code they get at the shuttle boarding point. In Miami, Dallas and Boston, they’ll have to pay $45 for a ride, while it’s $49 for the New York-New Jersey venue. Seeing as transportation prices are expected to go through the roof during the matches, those prices aren’t bad at all.
NJ Transit announced back in April that round-trip tickets from New York to New Jersey during the matches will cost people $150, ten times higher than normal. They can also pay $80 for a seat on a limited number of shuttle buses or pay $225 for a parking space at the nearby mall. Fans have been threatening to walk to the MetLife Stadium, which will be renamed New York-New Jersey Stadium during the World Cup. To get there, however, they would have to walk across unfriendly terrains like interstates and marshlands. Besides, they’re not even allowed to: Authorities had warned visitors that “pedestrian traffic is strictly prohibited” on the roadways surrounding the venue. “Walking on these roadways creates a significant safety hazard for both pedestrians and motorists,” said Charles Marchan, spokesperson for the New Jersey State Police.
In addition to offering shuttle services, Uber will also give customers access to turn-by-turn directions in-app that will guide them from their airport gates to to their pick-up locations. It will be available to users traveling through host city airports in the US, Canada and Mexico. Those watching matches in San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Vancouver and Toronto will also get access to in-app directions that will help them find the most efficient pickup spots from the stadium.
Fans traveling in groups will be able to book bigger rides for the matches, as well. Uber Max will give them a way to book a 14-seater van to-and-from the venue if they’re watching games in New York, Miami and Los Angeles. They can book Max from the the Hourly tile, where they can select how long they want to rent the vehicle. Customers can book Max vans for up to eight hours.
