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Transit agencies in just about all 16 World Cup host cities will support open-loop payments by kickoff of the tournament June 11 if fast-tracked implementations in Los Angeles and Kansas City finish on time. But the question will remain: How much will attendees of over 100 matches actually use public transportation?
• Table: World Cup host cities supporting open-loop payments, April 2026
• Document: RFQ, Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, Feb. 2026
• Document: FAQ for LA Metro’s sole-source contract with Cubic, June 2024
• LA Metro (Los Angeles)
• KCATA (Kansas City)
• Cubic
• Genfare
• IDFM (Paris)
• INIT
• MARTA (Atlanta)
• Houston Metro
• Sound Transit (Seattle)
• SEPTA (Philadelphia)
• NJ Transit (New Jersey)
• DART (Dallas)
With six weeks to go before the kickoff of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, transit agencies in 16 host cities across North America are making final preparations to accommodate the throngs of visitors expected for more than 100 matches.
All the main transit agencies in host cities in the U.S. and Canada accept credit and debit cards and open-loop credentials in mobile wallets for fares, except for two–those serving Los Angeles and Kansas City. The major agencies in those two cities say they will launch open loop before the start of the first matches in their respective cities. (See table below.) It remains to be seen how well they will do.
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