It’s no secret that one of the biggest obstacles for ticket holders traveling to the FIFA Men’s World Cup 2026 games in Los Angeles is traffic.
LA traffic is notorious, even without a crush of about 70,000 spectators per match rushing to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, where all eight LA-host international soccer matches will be played from June 12 to July 10.
In fact, a study by Geotab, Inc. that analyzed data points in 16 U.S. World Cup host cities, rated how they would handle the traffic with scores of 1 through 10, with 10 the highest. Los Angeles tied with Atlanta with a score of less than 1 for “resilience,” a category measuring how well they’ve coped with roadway traffic during previous large events in 2025.
For those driving to the games or taking ride-hailing services such as Lyft or Uber, there is another way provided by LA Metro.
The mega LA County transit agency has a plan in place to directly carry passengers on buses from 15 pick-up locations spread throughout LA County, including two in Orange County.
As the official public transit provider for the World Cup in L.A., the agency received $9.6 million from the Federal Transit Administration to build out specialized transit options serving spectators for this major sporting event.
Part of that went to hiring 300 extra buses by partnering with 11 other regional transit agencies to transport people from pick-up spots, most of them with parking, in Anaheim, Culver City, Newport Beach, Santa Monica, Torrance and North Hollywood, as well as locations near LAX designed for ticket-holders arriving from foreign countries and out-of-state locations.
To get enough extra buses and operators, LA Metro will partner with the following regional transit agencies: Access Services, Big Blue Bus, Culver City Transit, Foothill Transit, Long Beach Transit, Montebello Bus Lines, Norwalk Transit System, OmniTrans, Orange County Transportation Authority, Riverside Transit Agency and Torrance Transit, LA Metro reported.
“Metro is focused on delivering a seamless, accessible and safe experience for fans who will be traveling across our region during World Cup,” said Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins. “We’re expanding service, coordinating closely with our valued transit partners, and providing more park-and-ride options so riders have clear, convenient options every step of the way.”
The plan includes providing bus rides direct to SoFi, what the FIFA folks call “Los Angeles Stadium,” from these locations: Hawthorne/Lennox Station; Crenshaw Station; LAX/Metro Transit Center; Hotels & Parking LAX; El Camino College; Harbor Gateway Transit Center; Culver City Transit Center; Torrance Transit Center; Downtown Santa Monica; Union Station in downtown LA; Downtown Long Beach; North Hollywood Station; Pierce College Station; ARTIC Anaheim Station and Newport Transportation Center.
Most will have parking, but the cost to park is around $50 for some locations, and less for others. The trip times vary. For example, from the LAX/Metro Transit Center the estimated ride time is 15 minutes each way. A ride from Pierce College in the San Fernando Valley will take 75 minutes.
Also, the buses do not go to the stadium parking lot. Instead, they go to nearby parking areas and garages, requiring a 10 to 20 minute walk to the stadium entrances, according to LA Metro documents.
SoFi, home to Rams and Charger football, has been known to be gridlocked getting in and out of the stadium before and after games and concerts. When asked about why the buses don’t drop off and pick up at the stadium doors, LA Metro did not comment directly. “Metro and our regional transit partners will run direct, non-stop service to every World Cup match, taking fans from designated pick-up locations straight to the stadium, with no transfers or expensive stadium parking required,” responded Missy Coleman, LA Metro spokesperson in an email.
LA Metro watcher Bart Reed, executive director of the Transit Coalition, said the cooperation from other bus agencies is key to this operation’s success.
“They (LA Metro) are acquiring buses from everywhere. They are bringing in whatever they can whip up,” he said.
Reed compared this service to the Dodger Stadium Express. That runs buses from Union Station and from the South Bay directly to Dodger Stadium. In a similar way, LA Metro has set up bus service to SoFi for soccer matches, but in a larger way, listing 15 locations on its website.
“It’s a different version of the Dodger Stadium Express,” Reed said. “It is the same concept.”
Why the need for buses to reach SoFi?
The main reason is that the nearest line, the K (Crenshaw) Line comes close, but does not stop at SoFi, nor at the basketball arena, Intuit Dome. Reed and others call that a huge oversight.
Instead, Inglewood Mayor James Butts pushed for building a $2.2 billion elevated people mover to shuttle visitors from the nearest Metro rail stop to SoFi Stadium and the Intuit Dome. But federal funding was removed after Rep. Maxine Waters called the project “a boondoggle.” Also the South Bay Cities Council of Governments, a joint powers authority made up of 16 cities, rejected a request in October 2024 for $493 million in funding, killing the project. Those funds were critical for securing another $1 billion in federal grants needed to begin construction.
Since then, Inglewood has said it will revive the people mover project but reduce the number of stations and the number of businesses to be displaced. The goal is to build in phases but most say it will not be built in time for the 2028 Olympics.
“No rail service takes you directly to SoFi Stadium, which is why Metro’s enhanced bus service is going to be the easy and seamless way for fans to go to and from LA Stadium,” said LA Metro’s Coleman in an emailed response.
LA Metro recommends those in that part of LA County can take the C/K rail line to the LAX/Metro Transit Center Station and then get on one of the special buses to the stadium — a short ride.
While riders are charged for parking at most pick-up locations, Metro says that the fee is a lot less than $100 to $125 often charged for a single vehicle to park at the SoFi Stadium lots.
“Instead of paying for some of the most expensive stadium parking or sitting in traffic, people can focus on what matters most – celebrating the love of soccer with fellow fans from around the world while going to and from the games,” said Fernando Dutra, LA Metro board chair.
Dutra is hinting at making the bus ride part of the fan experience. This was certainly true during the 1984 LA Summer Olympic Games. Organizers put parking vouchers and park-n-ride locations into the tickets. Olympic fans often traveled on school buses to and from the events and formed a comradery by the return trip.
In August 2023, LA Metro ran several buses to and from SoFi for six Taylor Swift concerts, extending the times on rail lines until 2 a.m. Often the pop singers’ fans, called “Swifties,” rode transit and sang Swift’s songs in unison on trains and buses.
The rollout of shuttles, more frequent city buses and late-night rail headways resulted in a 25% overall increase in ridership, Metro reported in October 2023. The K (Crenshaw) Line increased by 250%, the C (Green) Line by 35% and stadium shuttle passengers carried 30,000 people to and from the Inglewood stadium.
Coleman did not answer whether the “enhanced bus service” to World Cup matches is similar to the Swift concert efforts. But back in October 2023, the board said the service for Swift concerts would be a learning experience to help them move fans of the World Cup and in July 2028 of the Summer Olympic Games.
LA Metro is planning on taking riders who are unfamiliar with Los Angeles or their rail lines or buses, that includes paying the $1.75 per ride using a TAP card or in some cases, they can pay with a credit or debit card.
“For riders more comfortable communicating in their native languages, Metro employees will have flag pins to indicate their additional languages,” Coleman wrote. Also, riders can scan a QR code to obtain information in other languages, she said.
The stadium will host the U.S. Men’s National Team opening match on June 12, and seven more matches over 39 days. The group stage begins June 12 with the United States facing Paraguay. The Inglewood venue will also host two Round of 32 matches and a quarterfinal scheduled for July 10.