Trip to the World Cup in KC: Fans and Drivers Plan for Crowds, Costs, and Chaos

The following is a guest post by University of Kansas journalism student, Kayle VanTilburg.

As the FIFA World Cup 2026 approaches its arrival in Kansas City, fans and rideshare drivers alike are preparing for the same challenge: navigating the crowds, traffic, and transportation chaos expected to come with one of the world’s biggest sporting events.

In Lawrence, fans like Robin Rosenberg are planning carefully for two matches on June 25 and 27. One will be a night out for her sons and have a full family trip. Living in Lawrence, her group plans to avoid driving altogether.

“Our plan is to take the bus from Lawrence to the hub and then from the hub to the stadium,” Robin said. “I just have no interest in driving through that kind of crowd.”

Her concerns mirror what local rideshare drivers are expecting. Vanessa Adams, who has driven for Uber and other rideshare platforms for more than a decade, said large concerts and sporting events already strain traffic systems, but she expects the World Cup to operate on an entirely different scale.

“With international travelers, packed stadiums, and overlapping matches, demand is going to be much more intense,” Adams said.

While fans like Rosenberg are searching for ways to avoid parking and traffic altogether, drivers like Adams are preparing for the opposite problem: overwhelming demand. She said surge pricing tends to appear before and after major events, but prices and wait times can change rapidly depending on how many riders’ request transportation at once.

“It changes in real time,” Adams said. “Even experienced drivers can’t always predict how high it will go or how long it will last.”

Everything You Need to Know about the World Cup in Kansas City

For Rosenberg, transportation costs are already becoming part of the budgeting process. She said ticket prices were significantly higher than expected, with many lower-priced seats disappearing almost immediately.

Because of that, transportation choices could affect how much families spend on food, merchandise, and other parts of the experience. Rosenberg expects parking near the stadium to be expensive enough to push more fans towards buses and rideshares.

Adams said riders hoping to avoid the highest rideshare costs may need to be planned carefully. Walking away from crowded pickup zones, waiting after matches to end, or scheduling rides in advance can sometimes reduce both prices and wait times.

Still, she expects post-match transportation to be difficult.

“Thousands of people requesting rides at once will definitely increase delays,” Adams said. Another rideshare driver, Matthew Roman, believes the scale of the event could affect not only transportation but the economy of surrounding cities like Lawrence. Although early projections suggested massive increases in tourism and short-term rental demand, Roman said some local expectations have not yet materialized.

“I’ve driven concerts, festivals, big games,” Roman said. “But this will be different, just bigger, longer, and more intense.”

Roman believes the event could still provide an economic boost to the area, even if attendance projections fall short.

“If even a small percentage of people show up and spend money, that’s still significant,” Roman said.

Despite concerns about crowds and delays, Rosenberg said fans should prepare themselves mentally for the slower pace and treat transportation as part of the experience itself. “You just have to be patient,” Rosenberg said. “If you try to make it about speed, you’ll get frustrated.”

As the World Cup approaches, transportation concerns are already shaping how fans and drivers prepare for the event. Whether by bus, rideshare, or personal vehicle, many expect the journey to the stadium to become a defining part of the World Cup experience in Kansas City.