April 20, 2026
Colleen Claggett/For PhillyVoice
SEPTA is offering free rides home on the Broad Street Line after each World Cup match at Lincoln Financial Field. It's part of a sponsorship deal with Airbnb.
Soccer fans attending the six FIFA World Cup games in Philadelphia can ride SEPTA home for free — a striking contrast from the pricy transportation costs fans are facing in some other host cities.
The Broad Street Line will offer free rides from NRG Station in South Philly beginning at halftime on game days, Philly's World Cup host committee said Monday. Trains will depart every 10 minutes or less, with free rides available for two hours following the end of each match. Airbnb is sponsoring the free rides.
MORE: Unlike other transit systems in World Cup host cities, SEPTA won't raise fares for matches
Regular fares will be charged for trips starting at other stations, but SEPTA said last week that it won't increase them. That's unlike transportation systems in New York and Boston, which plan to charge up to 11 times higher than usual for World Cup games.
SEPTA's free return fares are meant to provide safe and reliable transportation, and improve accessibility for matches, Philly's host committee said. They are similar to the sponsorships SEPTA has made in the past to offer free fares after Eagles games.
An Airbnb spokesperson said the free rides were a huge priority for the host committee, and that the sponsorship deal has been brewing since last year.
"We really believe that it shouldn't be an exclusive experience, that it should really be shared and that's part of the ethos of our company," the Airbnb spokesperson said. "So we're really focused on making the tournament as accessible and inclusive to fans and residents as possible."
Matches will take place on the following dates:
• Sunday, June 14 at 7 p.m., Côte d'Ivoire vs. Ecuador
• Friday, June 19 at 8:30 p.m., Brazil vs. Haiti
• Monday, June 22 at 5 p.m., France vs. Iraq
• Thursday, June 25 at 4 p.m., Côte d'Ivoire vs. Curacao
• Saturday, June 27 at 5 p.m., Croatia vs. Ghana
• Saturday, July 4 at 5 p.m., Round of 16
The fare to ride the Broad Street Line to matches at Lincoln Financial Field is $2.90. That's far less than the round-trip transit options for World Cup matches in Boston and New York.
Fares from Boston to Gillette Stadium in Foxboro are expected to cost $80 for trains and $95 for buses, and NJ Transit said transportation from New York's Pennsylvania Station to MetLife Stadium in New Jersey will cost $150 by train and $80 for a shuttle bus. However, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill has called for FIFA to shoulder the cost.
Airbnb's spokesperson said its decision only to cover fares in Philadelphia can be attributed to the city's host committee making that a priority.
"We really have been listening to host committees across the entire continent," the spokesperson said. "We're really helping the host committees meet the needs that they are identifying."
Other cities, including New York and Boston, preferred to put money toward building youth soccer pitches, the Airbnb spokesperson said. In Philadelphia, two mini youth soccer fields are being built in Northern Liberties as part of a separate corporate partnership between Street Soccer USA, Visa and Bank of America.
Philadelphia expects more than 1 million visitors to visit for the World Cup matches, the MLB All-Star Game and events celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
SEPTA estimates extra transit costs tied to these events to cost $21.5 million. Most of that will pay for additional transit police and overtime for transit operators. In March, the Federal Transit Administration awarded SEPTA a $5.5 million grant as part of a wider program that supported the country's 11 host cities.
Philadelphia is one of the only cities hosting a FIFA Fan Fest for the duration of the sporting event. The five-week, free event at Lemon Hill is expected to draw up to 25,000 people each day for watch parties. SEPTA said it plans to expand capacity of seven bus routes around Fairmount Park for the festival. A final transportation plan is expected to be released next month.
