Fans heading to the World Cup in the U.S. are facing a new source of sticker shock: mass transit. In New Jersey and Massachusetts, some train fares tied to matches will cost fans far more than normal NFL gameday trips.
The $95 bus fare was never going to break the bank, Phillips-Hunter knows, but he and so many other Scots are already paying huge sums to see their men’s team compete in the World Cup for the first time in 28 years. Phillips-Hunter estimates it will take him two years to pay off the credit card debt he’s taking on for his six-day trip to the U.S., including the $1,350 he spent on a ticket for the Scotland-Morocco match.
How could a 6 day event be worth debt that would take 2 years to pay off?
People in the US generally don’t care about soccer, so they wouldn’t see the value in eating the cost for people to come here and use up a considerable amount of infrastructure.
I like soccer, but not enough to watch it (or any other sports). If the burden is so great on the cities, then the ones who make the most should offset the cost. But then how would those that make the most…make the most?
No bus costs $95/person to operate, especially when running at capacity. Its just gouging, plain and simple.
You know its gouging because these trips already operate daily at $10-20/person, so its a 5x-10x markup for the same service offered the day before to literally anyone but the captive audience.
That’s explorative, and should not be part of our infrastructure like public transit systems, regardless of who it serves.
How could a 6 day event be worth debt that would take 2 years to pay off?
People in the US generally don’t care about soccer, so they wouldn’t see the value in eating the cost for people to come here and use up a considerable amount of infrastructure.
I like soccer, but not enough to watch it (or any other sports). If the burden is so great on the cities, then the ones who make the most should offset the cost. But then how would those that make the most…make the most?
No bus costs $95/person to operate, especially when running at capacity. Its just gouging, plain and simple.
You know its gouging because these trips already operate daily at $10-20/person, so its a 5x-10x markup for the same service offered the day before to literally anyone but the captive audience.
That’s explorative, and should not be part of our infrastructure like public transit systems, regardless of who it serves.