Los Angeles will host the Summer Olympics and Paralympics in 2028, and officials have described the plan as a transit-first or car-free Games. Venues are scattered across the region, and organizers expect a surge in daily trips during the event.
Metro’s approach relies less on new rail lines finished in time and more on buses: the agency has planned to borrow roughly 2,700 buses from other transit systems to handle an estimated one million additional daily transit trips, and has looked at dedicated bus lanes to keep those buses moving (UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies). Longer-term projects associated with the Games include the D Line extension toward UCLA, the A Line extension to Pomona, the LAX/Metro Transit Center and the LAX Automated People Mover (Transportation for America).
Skeptics point to a tension in the region’s own capital program, which includes freeway capacity projects that pull in the opposite direction, and to the risk that borrowed buses and temporary service vanish the day the closing ceremony ends. Accessibility advocates have also raised concerns about sidewalks and station access, especially for Paralympic visitors.
The decisions are spread across the Los Angeles City Council, the Metro board and state and federal funders, which makes public comment periods important. If you want to participate, see how to speak at a city council meeting, read public transit funding, or look up officials in the Los Angeles directory.
