Kolluri: Skip the private buses — and don’t even think about walking

Kris Kolluri has a question for anyone considering walking to World Cup matches or getting a ride from an unsanctioned bus company.

Why would you?

Kolluri, the head of both NJ Transit and the NJ Turnpike Authority, raised the question during a discussion at a Meadowlands Chamber Eggs and Issues event Friday morning.

He acknowledges there has been pushback from the announced $150 NJ Transit ticket to the eight matches, including the final, at MetLife Stadium, but — after defending the cost — he questioned why anyone would consider some of the alternative solutions that have popped up in recent days.

“You can do whatever you want, but whether you actually are going to get to the stadium is going to be the issue,” he said.

Kolluri noted that NJ Transit has created safe and secure options.

He noted there will be separate lines for trains and buses — and a plan to get 40,000 people in and out of the stadium, as NJ Transit successfully did for the Club World Cup last summer.

“This idea that you’re going to get a private bus that is completely unsanctioned to pick you up in some random location and drop you off somewhere near the stadium — which will have some of the highest security barriers — and then have them actually pick you up after the game at a random location, seems a bit irresponsible,” he said.

“And you’re doing it all because you’re chasing after a few dollars when you’ve already spent on average $1,500 a ticket? That makes no sense to me.”

The only option that’s worse is walking, he said.

Kolluri is known for his ability to be even-keeled, transparent and logical when discussing this matter.

But the issue of folks walking to the matches — literally putting their lives in danger — clearly moved him.

“That is exactly what I don’t want you to do, because I want your family intact and not in a hospital,” he said. “I’m actually very, very serious.

“Walking is the worst thing you can ever do in this environment. I want to emphasize this again. I want you and your family to actually have a good time and not risk your life.”

Kolluri made it clear that a single serious incident would be a disaster for everyone.

“As a transportation practitioner and a human being, the travesty of one person dying or getting hit on our highway would literally put a dark cloud on the entire event for you personally and for the state of New Jersey,” he said.

And for what savings, he repeatedly asked.

If someone is willing to spend $1,500 on a ticket — and who knows how much on swag and concessions — what’s $150, he asks.

Kolluri is a realist. He understands that private companies are offering private service — for less than $150. He can’t stop them. He just wants them to understand the difficulty of delivering what they are offering.

“It is very tempting for a private bus operator, like I’ve seen on social media in the last three days, to say, ‘Come to Hoboken and we will take you to the stadium,’” he said. “I am telling you, your life will be very hard and miserable — not because you can’t do it, but because the perimeter is so secure.”

It’s why NJ Transit has set up the system it has, Kolluri said.

“This is an extraordinary opportunity for the region,” he said. “This is an extraordinary opportunity for the state of New Jersey. We will shine, and we will show the world what we are made of. New Jersey has been on the forefront of innovation and revolution for as long as the Republic has been around. And I think this will be no exception.”

More than that, Kolluri is determined to ensure that it will not be a repeat of what he called the ‘catastrophic failure’ that occurred after the Super Bowl in 2014, when tens of thousands of fans waited hours to get a train from the game.

That’s why NJ Transit, in coordination with the Host Committee, has set up their transportation program.

One that doesn’t include private buses or walking.