Alexander Estrella is a 2023 Transportation and Environmental Justice Fellow and a sophomore student at the City College of New York in the Civil Engineering program with a strong desire to focus on transportation.



This past weekend, I went with my family to watch a game at the Red Bull Arena. Since most of my companions had no idea how to get there, it was up to my mother and me to transport all eight of us from Corona, Queens New York, to Harrison, New Jersey.

Distance from Corona to Newark. 30.5 miles which is equivalent to a two-hour bike ride

We checked our route on Google Maps and found that we had a one hour and thirty-six-minute journey ahead of us, which was significantly longer compared to driving a car or simply ordering an Uber (59 minutes) for $150. To get there by public transportation, our first step would be walking to the 7 train stop at Junction Blvd to reach 74th St-Broadway, where we would transfer to the E train to get to the World Trade Center. Once at the World Trade Center stop, the transfer is a ten-minute walk to catch a Newark PATH Train. Finally, we would have to disembark at Harrison and walk for approximately ten minutes to reach the Red Bull Arena.

1hr36min ride from Corona to the Red Bull Arena, with 3 transfers.

59min ride from Corona to the Red Bull Arena in your own car or taking an Uber. 

We are not strangers to the 7 and E trains. We take them on a daily basis to get to school or work or to move around the city. We know for a fact that during weekends, the service of both trains may be irregular, especially the E train, which may only make some stops or become a local train. However, this weekend, we did not encounter any of these issues, except for an extremely hard-to-hear announcement that made us a little anxious, as we weren’t sure if it was important (fortunately, nothing happened). Thus, it is safe to say it was a smooth ride to the World Trade Center (Thumbs up, MTA!).

However, our issues started when we transferred to the Newark PATH train. The train was so packed that my family got separated into small groups. How would I communicate with them about when to get off? Were they still on the same train? Is my little sister with another adult? These thoughts naturally arise when you cannot see your family members in the same train car. Thankfully, a few stops later, people started leaving the train, and although it was still crowded, I could spot my relatives.

But then, another problem arose: the train wouldn’t leave the station. The train engineer explained through a hard-to-hear announcement that a signal was malfunctioning, and we wouldn’t move until it was fixed. We had to wait inside the train car for about 30 minutes, and many people were still onboard. Most were fans eager to reach the arena and watch the game, but I also saw other riders just trying to get home. Everyone was tired and had to stand throughout the wait, including my 67-year-old relative, who couldn’t find a seat. We finally received the announcement we had all been waiting for: ‘Stand clear of the closing doors.’ Luckily, my family members are punctual and had planned to leave an extra hour early. We would have missed half of the game if we had left to arrive just in time.

We arrived at the arena 20 minutes before the game started (we previously planned to get there one hour early), and the game was awesome. The atmosphere in the stadium was fantastic. Ecuador won! (Congrats, Ecuador, well played, Bolivia!). The trip back home felt particularly long and exhausting. It was 10pm, we were hungry, and we just wanted to get home, but we still had a one-hour and thirty-six-minute journey ahead of us. The PATH Train back to the World Trade Center was normal, with no delays. It still felt longer than our first ride. When we got on the E train, we managed to find seats, but the train rapidly got crowded. After 30 minutes, it became annoying, but there was nowhere else to go as the train was crowded. Finally, my parents, sister, and I took the 7 train, while my other relatives took the Q33 to get to their apartment. On the Q33, my relatives encountered vomit in the rear part of the bus, which permeated the air on the entire bus.

Ecuador won!!!

My overall experience was greatly affected by the difficulties we faced getting there, and it may be similar to what everyone experiences when trying to navigate public transit. The place or activity you’re trying to reach may be amazing, but simply getting there can be challenging enough to discourage you from returning to public transit next time. Experiences like this might encourage someone to avoid public transit and instead rely on Uber or your own car. Just like a Taylor Swift concert urges a great amount of people to take different transportation systems, a soccer game can have the same effect on a different and no less devoted audience of people. This is why there is a crucial need to strive for a more efficient and frequent transit system to encourage fans to choose public transit options instead of private vehicles. Promoting projects like the Interborough Express, which would connect underserved communities of Brooklyn and Queens, or Through-Running trains at Penn Station, could facilitate connections between distant locations and improve accessibility for many communities to attend these types of events, which are important economic drivers for our region. When public transit runs efficiently, cities run efficiently.