South Florida traffic is already frustrating enough on a normal day. Add the anticipated hundreds of thousands of people expected for the 2026 World Cup in Miami — and that frustration threatens to become a whole other beast.
Miami-Dade County transportation officials say they’ve spent more than a year preparing for the influx of visitors expected for the tournament and related events, developing a transit plan to get fans and locals where they need to go.
Seven matches are scheduled to play at the Hard Rock Stadium — temporarily renamed Miami Stadium — in Miami Gardens, with a fan festival at Bayfront Park. A key part of the transportation plan will be a free shuttle system taking ticket-holders to and from the stadium.
“Moving large crowds safely and efficiently is what Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW) does every day,” said Stacy Miller, director and CEO of DTPW.
“Extensive coordination has taken place between DTPW, stadium operations, law enforcement, traffic management teams and our regional partners to ensure fans can move to and from Miami Stadium as smoothly as possible.”
Transit service
Miami-Dade’s transit system is among the largest in the country. According to an annual report from DTPW, the county transit system moved more than 4.6 million riders across its Metrobus, Metrorail, Metromover, and Special Transportation Service from 2023 to 2024.
“ We're planning on moving quite a great deal of people for the matches themselves, but our regular service for Metrorail, Metromover, and Metrobus will still be active and ongoing each and every day,” she said.
“We have two weekday matches… which is convenient for us from the standpoint that our large surge of regular patrons is during the weekday.”
The Metromover will continue to operate until midnight each day, with extended service hours until 1 a.m. for events at the fan festival in Bayfront Park.
Due to the possible influx of vehicles on the county’s roads, DTPW will also be providing additional buses on certain routes as needed to keep up with the service.
Game-day shuttles
Among the plans is the free Miami Game Day Express shuttle service to get verified ticket holders to and from the stadium.
The shuttles will be stationed at four transit hubs: Brightline Aventura Station, Martin Luther King Jr. Metrorail Station, Golden Glades Parking Garage and Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood.
According to Miller, fans can arrive at their preferred location up to five hours before kickoff. The first buses are expected to head to the stadium about three and a half hours before the match starts.
“Fans do not need to arrive five hours early, but they are encouraged to allow plenty of time to arrive and potentially park at their selected hub, have their tickets verified as they board a shuttle, travel to Miami Gardens, and clear stadium security before the match,” she said.
The county is planning to use nearly 200 buses to move fans to and from the designated transit hubs.
Miller says signage and staff will be positioned throughout the transit locations and stadium to direct riders to their shuttle loading locations.
After the match, she says it will take some time to get fans back to their transit hubs.
“Moving tens of thousands of people from a major sporting event is a process that may take several hours, and our transportation plan is designed specifically for that reality, with continuous shuttle service operating until fans have been returned to their designated locations safely and efficiently,” said Miller.
The Miami Game Day shuttle system has no pre-registration. For more information, click here.
