A city councillor has slammed a new bus service ‘gouging’ Scotland fans attending World Cup matches in Boston .
Boston’s 2026 World Cup committee has launched its ‘preferred’ bus service, charging most riders about £70 to go from sites across eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island to the stadium.
SNP councillor Danny Aston said the prices for the service, contracted out to a Boston-area coach provider, were ‘grotesque’.
He continued: “Yet another absurd piece of price gouging on ordinary football fans – and Scotland fans have been waiting 28 years for this tournament.
“Everyone who’s been to a major sporting event and music festival will expect to pay over the odds. But this is grotesque.”
Scotland will play at least two matches at ‘Boston Stadium’, located 20 miles south of the city.
On June 14, Scotland will play Haiti with a 2am UK kick-off time, while on June 19 Scotland will play Morocco, with an 11pm kick-off.
The service will offer 10,000 round-trip match-day tickets per game to the stadium from various hotels and points of interest in the region.
Fares from points closer to the stadium are lower, with tickets for a hotel four miles from the stadium costing around £18.50.
FIFA is not responsible for organising public transport to matches, with that responsibility falling instead on host committees and public transport bodies.
Fans had already balked at the cost of train service to the stadium, with round-trip fares for the hour-long ride from Boston costing around £60.
During American football match days, the service costs about £15, while regular tickets – not available during the World Cup matches – cost about £6.50.
The city’s host committee has faced financial pressure in the run-up to the tournament, with local press reporting in April that it could fall over $70m (£52m) short of its $170m (£126m) fundraising target.
The host committee was contacted for comment, but did not respond by time of publication.
By Joseph Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter
