ME CABS runs pre-booked pickups and drop-offs for every MCG event. The public drop-off and pick-up point for taxis is Clarendon Street near the Pullman Hotel, on the corner of Wellington Parade in East Melbourne, and patrons with accessibility needs can be dropped by taxi at the bus turning circle on Jolimont Terrace. Book ahead for a set time and a fixed fare — no surge when a hundred thousand people leave at once.
Booked before the game, waiting after it. Fixed fare, named meeting point, no surge.
Yarra Park
Car park closed for the rest of the 2026 AFL season.
No drive-up parking. Checked 21 August 2026.
Before you plan the trip
A hundred thousand people. One exit. Book before the siren.
01
Fact one
Driving to the MCG is effectively off the table right now
The Yarra Park car park is closed for the remainder of the 2026 AFL season, with no drive-up parking available. The MCG closed it to protect patron safety on unstable grassed paddocks and to help the heritage-listed park recover after wet weather. The only parking still available on site is a strictly limited allocation for Australian Disability Parking permit holders who have pre-purchased a pass through Ticketek.
Most people planning a trip to the MCG still assume they can park in Yarra Park. They can't — so the trip you were planning has already changed, whether or not you book it with us.
02
Fact two
A taxi can go somewhere rideshare cannot
Patrons with accessibility needs can be dropped off by taxi, or by a private vehicle displaying an Australian Disability Parking permit, at the bus turning circle on the corner of Jolimont Street and Jolimont Terrace — right by the Members Reserve and Gate 2. The MCG states plainly that vehicles without a disability parking permit, including pre-booked rideshare, are not permitted to enter.
This is the venue's own rule, not our marketing. A licensed taxi can deliver an accessibility patron to the closest possible vehicle point to the gate. An app-based rideshare cannot.
03
Fact three
The exit is the hard part, not the arrival
Pedestrians are given priority when leaving MCG events, so vehicles inside Yarra Park face significant delays getting out, with sections of the park held until the crowds thin. Gate 3 and Gate 7 are held for roughly 30 minutes after the match because of road closures and safe egress. Street parking nearby is very limited.
A hundred thousand people leave through a small number of exits at the same moment. Everything below is organised around that one problem: where to be, and when, so your car can actually reach you.
Pickup points, gate arrangements and the Yarra Park closure are current as at 21 August 2026 and are re-checked before each major event and at the start of each season. Gate arrangements change for concerts and one-off events — always check the venue's event-day page as well.
Where taxis actually go
One stadium, three vehicle points, and only one of them is right for your gate.
Pullman / Clarendon Street
Corner of Wellington Parade and Clarendon Street, East Melbourne — in front of the Pullman Hotel.
Who can use it. Everyone. This is the public drop-off and pick-up point for taxis, rideshare and private vehicles.
Best for. Gates 1, 2 and 3. Around a five-minute walk through Yarra Park.
The bus turning circle
Corner of Jolimont Street and Jolimont Terrace, beside the Members Reserve and Gate 2.
Who can use it. Taxis and Australian Disability Parking permit holders only. Rideshare — including pre-booked — is not permitted to enter.
Best for. Patrons with accessibility needs. The closest vehicle access to the ground.
Olympic Boulevard rank
Outside Rod Laver Arena on Olympic Boulevard, the road formerly known as Swan Street.
Who can use it. Everyone.
Best for. Gates 5, 6 and 7, and anyone heading on to Melbourne Park. Reached by footbridge.
Tell us your gate, not the stadium. The MCG has one address and three vehicle points, and the difference between the right one and the wrong one is a twenty-minute walk around a park in the dark.
Tell us your gate
We’ll set the meeting point.
Your ticket has a gate number on it. That number decides which of the three vehicle points your car should be at.
Coming out of Gate 1 — meet the car at
Clarendon Street / Pullman
Corner of Wellington Parade and Clarendon Street, East Melbourne — in front of the Pullman Hotel.
Through Yarra Park, around 5 minutes
Book the time, and we’ll have the car at that point.
Or the bus turning circle on Jolimont Terrace if you have accessibility needs — it is the closest vehicle point to this gate.
Around 5 minutes, or under 1 minute from the turning circle
Gate 3
Clarendon Street / Pullman Held for around 30 minutes after the match.
5 to 7 minutes once released
Gates 4 & 5
Olympic Boulevard, outside Rod Laver Arena
Via the Rod Laver footbridge, around 5 minutes
Gate 6
Olympic Boulevard
Via the John Cain Arena footbridge, around 5 minutes
Gate 7
Olympic Boulevard Also held for around 30 minutes after the match.
5 minutes once released
Walking times are the venue’s own guidance and assume the crowd is moving. On a Grand Final or a Boxing Day they will be longer. Gate arrangements change for concerts and one-off events.
Before the last quarter
Book the pickup for fifteen minutes after the final siren. You’ll be walking, not waiting.
What’s actually available, including the part nobody has updated.
Yarra Park
Closed for the remainder of the 2026 AFL season. No drive-up parking. Australian Disability Parking permit holders with a pre-purchased Ticketek pass only.
Melbourne Park Eastern Plaza
The nearest accessible car parking. Roughly 350 m to Gate 6 via the John Cain Arena footbridge.
Pullman Melbourne on the Park
Roughly 400 m to Gate 2 via Wellington Parade and Yarra Park.
11 Exhibition Street (Wilson)
Roughly 1.1 km to Gate 2 via Batman Avenue and the William Barak Bridge.
On-street
Metered parking around Fitzroy Gardens, the Botanic Gardens and along the Yarra. Very limited on event days.
Coaches
Buses are not permitted to park in Yarra Park. The City of Melbourne publishes nearby coach parking.
The alternative car parks listed here are not operated or endorsed by the MCG and have their own restrictions, prices and closing times. Check before you rely on one.
The MCG is one of the best-served venues in the country. We don’t need to pretend otherwise.
Two stations, three tram routes, a bus, a pedestrian bridge and the ground’s own free shuttle. If one of them gets you home, take it. Below is where a booked car still wins.
Jolimont Station
The closest station, a short walk to Gates 1 to 3.
Richmond Station
Serves a large number of lines and is the main exit route for the eastern and southern suburbs.
Flinders Street Station
Around a 20-minute walk, about 1.6 km, via the William Barak Bridge.
William Barak Bridge
A 525-metre pedestrian bridge from Birrarung Marr near Federation Square, over Batman Avenue and the rail corridor, into Yarra Park. The main walking route from the city — 15 to 20 minutes from Flinders Street.
Trams
Routes 75 and 48 run along Wellington Parade; Stop 11 Jolimont Station/MCG is about 300 m from Gate 2 and 400 m from Gate 3. Route 70 detours via Melbourne Park, with Stop 7B for Gates 1 to 3 and Stop 7C for Gates 4 to 7.
Bus
Route 246 links Clifton Hill Station with Elsternwick Station — useful from the northern and southern suburbs.
The G-Train
The MCG's own free, accessible mobility shuttle, running during public events. Its route takes in the MCG gates, Yarra Park, Jolimont Station and Richmond Station. It is genuinely useful, and we would rather tell you about it than pretend it isn't there.
Tram route numbers and stop references are current as at 21 August 2026 and are re-checked annually against the MCG and PTV. We publish the shape of the network, not a timetable — check ptv.vic.gov.au for times.
Where a booked car still wins.
After a night event. Trains and trams out of Richmond and Jolimont are at their most crowded in the thirty minutes after a siren or a final encore.
With children, or with anyone who can't stand in a crowd for half an hour. The queue is the problem, not the distance.
Going anywhere that isn't on a rail line. The network is excellent if your destination happens to be on it.
Corporate and hospitality guests. If you have been in a function suite, you shouldn't be driving, and a booked car is the plan you made earlier.
Accessibility patrons. For the reason in fact two — the closest vehicle access point admits taxis and excludes rideshare.
Still want the car? Set the pickup time for after the game and stop thinking about it.
Set the time when you book, not when the siren goes. Your car is allocated to you and meeting you at a named point — while everyone else is opening an app on a stadium network with a hundred thousand phones on it. Book the pickup for about fifteen minutes after the final siren and you'll be walking, not waiting.
02
Accessible transport
Wheelchair accessible vehicles, booked in advance, with drop-off at the bus turning circle on Jolimont Terrace — the closest vehicle access to the ground, and a point rideshare is not permitted to enter. We can coordinate with the G-Train shuttle and arrange the return trip at the same time. MPTP members receive 50% off the total fare, up to a $60 subsidy per trip.
03
Groups and maxi taxis
Six or seven of you in one vehicle, one fare, meeting at one point. Cheaper per head than splitting across cars, and nobody gets lost in Yarra Park at 10.30pm. Maxis are limited in number, so finals, Boxing Day and Anzac Day want booking well ahead.
04
Airport to the ground, and back
Interstate for the Grand Final or the Boxing Day Test? Melbourne Airport to the MCG, to your hotel, or straight to the ground with the bags in the boot. Flight tracked, fixed fare, and the return leg booked before you land.
05
Corporate and hospitality
Function suites, member guests and client entertainment. Multiple vehicles to one schedule, Cabcharge accepted, and one person to call on the day rather than five people opening five apps in the same corridor.
06
Tours, the museum and non-event days
The MCG runs stadium tours and houses the Australian Sports Museum, both on non-event days when the ground is quiet and the roads around it are normal. A straightforward door-to-door run, and a much easier trip than a match day.
Accessible transport
We can drop you at the turning circle by Gate 2. Rideshare can’t.
The bus turning circle on the corner of Jolimont Street and Jolimont Terrace is the closest vehicle access to the ground. Taxis and Australian Disability Parking permit holders may enter it; vehicles without a permit, including pre-booked rideshare, are not permitted to.
Wheelchair accessible vehicles must be booked in advance. They are limited in number and we hold them for the bookings that need them.
Multi Purpose Taxi Program members receive 50% off the total fare, up to a $60 subsidy per trip. Tell us you're an MPTP member when you book.
We can coordinate with the G-Train, the MCG's own free accessible shuttle, and arrange the return trip at the same time as the first one.
The MCG is a supporter of the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower program. If you are travelling with us to or from the ground and there is anything that would make the trip easier — a quieter drop-off, more time at the door, a particular gate — tell us when you book.
Every event on this ground has its own transport problem.
AFL home-and-away
March to August, multiple matches weekly
The volume business. Twilight and night matches produce the hardest exits.
AFL finals & Grand Final
September
Largest crowds of the year, heaviest road closures, most interstate visitors. Book weeks ahead.
Boxing Day Test
From 26 December, up to five days
Sustained multi-day demand, family groups and long days in the sun. The most under-served event on the calendar.
BBL — Melbourne Stars
December to January
Night matches, family crowds, late finishes.
Anzac Day match
25 April
A huge crowd plus city commemorations and separate road closures. Plan the route, not just the pickup.
Concerts & one-off events
Summer, plus international fixtures
Gate arrangements and pickup points change. Always check the venue's event-day page.
These are the recurring patterns, not a fixture list. We would rather send you to the MCG's own event calendar for dates than publish a list that goes stale between finals.
Why ME CABS
A hundred thousand people leaving at once doesn’t change your fare.
Why trust us on event days
A fixed fare agreed before you travel. A hundred thousand people leaving at once doesn't change your price.
Pre-booked, so your car is allocated to your time rather than thrown into a pool at the worst possible moment.
We know which point serves which gate, and we tell you before you leave home.
Licensed commercial passenger vehicles and accredited drivers. Cabcharge accepted, and MPTP recognised.
Why not rideshare
Surge is at its absolute worst here. A stadium emptying is the textbook surge event.
Rideshare cannot enter the bus turning circle — the accessibility drop-off closest to the ground. The venue states this explicitly, including for pre-booked trips.
Pin drift in a crowd of a hundred thousand across a dark heritage park is not a solved problem. “Your driver is nearby” and “your driver has found you” are different sentences.
No accessible vehicle on demand, no MPTP, no Cabcharge.
Why not drive
Yarra Park is closed for the rest of the 2026 AFL season. There is no drive-up parking.
Pedestrians get priority on exit, so vehicles inside the park are held until the crowds thin.
Nearby street parking is very limited, and the commercial car parks fill and sell out.
If you've been in a hospitality suite, you shouldn't be driving anyway.
Why book now
Event dates are known in advance and so is the demand. The cars go to whoever books first.
Grand Final week, Boxing Day and Anzac Day are the tightest dates in our year.
Maxis and accessible vehicles are limited in number and must be reserved, not requested on the night.
Agreed? Set the time and the fare now, while you can still hear yourself think.
Two kilometres from the CBD, and a hundred thousand seats.
Built in 1853 and set in heritage-listed Yarra Park, a traditional meeting place, the Melbourne Cricket Ground holds just over 100,000 people and is Australia's largest cricket ground. It sits about 2 km from the CBD.
It staged the first Test match between Australia and England in 1877 and Don Bradman's final Test appearance in 1948. It is home to the Melbourne Stars in the BBL, and it hosts the AFL Grand Final and the Boxing Day Test.
Questions
The things people actually ask in the last ten minutes of a match.
The public drop-off and pick-up point is Clarendon Street near the Pullman Hotel, on the corner of Wellington Parade in East Melbourne — about a five-minute walk through Yarra Park to Gates 1 to 3. There is also a rank on Olympic Boulevard outside Rod Laver Arena, which suits Gates 5 to 7.
Can I be dropped closer if I have accessibility needs?
Yes. Patrons with accessibility needs can be dropped by taxi at the bus turning circle on the corner of Jolimont Street and Jolimont Terrace, beside the Members Reserve and Gate 2. Vehicles without a disability parking permit, including pre-booked rideshare, are not permitted to enter — a licensed taxi is.
Is there parking at the MCG?
Not currently. The Yarra Park car park is closed for the remainder of the 2026 AFL season with no drive-up parking. Only Australian Disability Parking permit holders who pre-purchased a pass through Ticketek can access the limited on-site parking. Nearby commercial car parks exist but fill quickly, and they are not operated by the MCG.
How long does it take to get out after a match?
Longer than people expect. Pedestrians are given priority on exit, so vehicles in Yarra Park are held until the crowds thin, and Gates 3 and 7 are held for around 30 minutes after the match. Booking a pickup for shortly after the siren, at a named point away from the held gates, means you're walking while everyone else is waiting.
Do you surge price after big games?
No. The fare is agreed before you travel and doesn't change because a hundred thousand people left at the same time.
Can you take a group of six or seven?
Yes — book a maxi. One vehicle, one fare, one meeting point. Book ahead for finals, Boxing Day and Anzac Day, because maxis are limited in number.
Is there a free shuttle at the ground?
Yes. The MCG runs the G-Train, a free accessible mobility shuttle during public events, covering the MCG gates, Yarra Park, Jolimont Station and Richmond Station. It's a good option on site, and we can meet you at either station.
How far is the MCG from the city?
About 2 km. Walking takes 15 to 20 minutes from Flinders Street Station via the William Barak Bridge. By car it is a short trip outside event traffic, and a longer one inside it.
Can you pick us up from Melbourne Airport before the game?
Yes — door to door with your flight tracked and a fixed fare, to the ground or to your hotel first. It's a popular booking for Grand Final week and the Boxing Day Test.
What does it cost?
The fare is agreed before you travel, so you know it before you book rather than watching a meter in post-match traffic. Put your pickup and drop-off into the fare estimator for an exact figure, or call 1300 012 018 and we'll quote it.
Book it now, and walk straight to a car that’s already there.
Every MCG event, every gate. A fixed fare agreed before you travel, a car allocated to your time, and a named meeting point that suits the gate on your ticket.
