The Paris Games are over, and Los Angeles is off to the races to prepare the city’s transit system for what officials are calling a transit-first 2028 Olympic Games.
It's been 40 years since Los Angeles hosted the Olympic Games. Back then, the city housed and commuted 3.4 million visitors without experiencing gridlock.
Or so the story is told.
The 1984 Games was called an “automotive nirvana,” and became a model for future Olympics. With the 2028 Summer Games now fast approaching, the clock is ticking for LA Metro to reproduce past successes.
“LA28 will be a transit-first Games, which means that spectators will be encouraged to take public transportation to get to the myriad of world class venues where the Games will be held,” said Kim Parker Gordon, a spokesperson for the L.A. Olympic and Paralympic Games.
So, what will be LA28’s transit legacy after the flame is gone and the Games are over?
“You have to think about this in two ways. There's a world event approximately two weeks long, how do you handle that?” said Marlon Boarnet, a USC professor of public policy who studies transit. “And then after … did the Games produce some infrastructure that is useful to the city?”
Where do we stand on transportation?
Former L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti championed a plan to accelerate transit infrastructure projects. Dubbed “Twenty-Eight by ‘28,” it was a $42.9 billion wish list of Metro projects to be completed ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.
Six years later, progress has been stymied for projects on that list, largely due to revenue shortages and disagreements with local jurisdictions.
Of the original 28 designs, 18 are still on course to be completed before the Olympics, but 10 are anticipated to open after 2028, as of a March Metro report.
Currently, three are completed, seven are under construction, six are in the final design phase, and 12 are still in planning.
What will be done before 2028?
Metro has still been able to add rail lines in Crenshaw, downtown, and the east and west sides, connecting Los Angeles' previously fragmented transit system, and linking major LA28 venues.
That includes a major extension of the D-line from the Wilshire/Western stop all the way to Westwood, slated to open between 2025 and 2027, and an L line extension to Montclair to open by 2028.
And LAX’s much-anticipated automated people mover train is likely to start welcoming riders as soon as January 2026 after years of delays.
Once complete, it’s expected to carry 30 million people to and from the airport in its first year. Fast forward to 2028, thousands of Olympics spectators landing in LAX are expected to book hotels and reach stadiums from the APM to the recently completed Crenshaw/LAX light rail line (K Line) via the Airport Metro Connector Station, which is set to open later this year.
From there, travelers will be linked to many of the city’s new Metro extensions, bike shares, and pedestrian-friendly streets.
“A lot of attention is going to be focused on LAX, because it will be the first place that many visitors will see,” Boarnet said.
Thanks to a recent $900 million infusion from federal infrastructure funds, Metro and Inglewood renewed plans to make the city’s transit connector operational ahead of the Games. That’s another automated people mover that will move folks from the Kia Forum, Sofi Stadium, YouTube Theater and the Intuit Dome to the Crenshaw line.
The project’s construction will displace 41 local businesses but relocation funds will be provided for those affected, according to the city.
And despite local push back in places like Eagle Rock and Burbank, Metro is on track to open three Bus Rapid Transit lines. Transit officials said we’ll see lines from North Hollywood to Pasadena, Hollywood to South Central and from Northridge to North Hollywood before 2027.
Projects we won’t catch for the Games
Early plans to blanket the city in shiny new rail lines have largely fallen by the wayside. Four key light rail projects connecting the Valley, South Bay and gateway cities to the Metro rail system are delayed into the 2030’s.
Three of the four are in areas Boarnet called “historically underserved.”
These major rail line additions were top priority in 2019, but so far, Metro has fallen short on the fundraising needed to get them done. While Measure M and Measure R sales tax revenues have generated billions for transit, Metro hasn’t raised enough state and federal funding needed to accelerate the projects as planned.
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Metro’s ambitious “pillar projects” would connect people from L.A.’s core transit system to the Valley, South Bay and gateway cities through light rail.
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- Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project — This is still under an environmental review.. The route would shuttle riders from Van Nuys to the Expo line in 20 minutes. Forecasted opening: 2033-35.
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- Metro C Line Extension to Torrance — This project would operate as part of the Metro K Line and provide a direct ride between Torrance and the Metro E Line. It would also connect two new regional bus centers in Redondo Beach and Torrance. Forecasted opening: 2030-33.
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- Southeast Gateway Line — Metro’s plan for better transit includes a potential new light rail line to southeast L.A. County via a new line from downtown Los Angeles. It would pass through Artesia, Cerritos, Downey, South Gate, Cudahy, Bell, Huntington Park, and more. Forecasted opening: 2035
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- Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2 — Metro plans to expand rail with more E Line Stations further east from its current terminus at Pomona Boulevard and Atlantic Boulevard in East Los Angeles. Forecasted opening: 2035
What’s the plan for the Games?
So, with most Metro light rail routes delayed, how does L.A. plan to shuttle millions of event-goers in 2028?
It's on folks minds. Even the commentators for NBC complained about not looking forward to the traffic back in L.A. as the Paris games came to a close. Hours later, and we're not saying it's connected, Metro shared this video on social:
The plan hasn’t changed much since 1984, Boarnet said. At the last L.A. Olympiad, the city rented 550 buses from local jurisdictions and shuttled people to and from venues and hotels. In 2028, Metro plans to deploy an even larger fleet.
“Our top line estimate for how many buses we will need is 2,700, and that is almost a doubling of Metro's current fleet,” Metro's chief innovation officer, Selena Reynold said during a board meeting in March.
In July, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg awarded Metro a $77 million grant for electric buses, and the transportation agency has asked for another $319 million ahead of the Games.
Compare that to the 1984 Games, when it cost just $3.5 million to deliver transit to millions of ticket holders.
Still, Metro officials said they’ll be ready.
“We know this is an incredible opportunity today to improve the experience," Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins said at a news conference in May. "So that in 2028, when we're hosting the world, transportation will be the last thing they have to worry about."
