What more than $3 billion in federal funding would do to make LA's 2028 Summer Games ‘car free'

Yahoo

29-04-2025

Planning to attend events at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles? Better hope a request for $3.2 billion in federal funding comes through or you could have trouble getting to Southern California's Olympic venues.
That's because Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has called for a 'no car' Olympics in a city famous for its dependence on private vehicles, so spectators will need to rely on what she promises will be an improved public transportation system.
Bass announced the goal at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, acknowledging it would be 'a feat in Los Angeles, because we've always been in love with our cars, but we're already working to ensure that we can build a greener Los Angeles.'
Those improvements, however, are counting on federal funding. In a recent interview, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority CEO Stephanie Wiggins made the case for the taxpayer investment.
'For now, you will not be able to drive your car to a venue as a ticketed spectator. For security reasons, you have to take transit, walk, bicycle, or get dropped off,' Wiggins told Santa Monica-based KCRW, a National Public Radio member station.
She said about a million additional riders a day are expected during the Summer Games that start in mid-July 2028 with 16 days of the Olympics, followed by the Paralympics in August for athletes with disabilities.
'Well, we're carrying a million people a day today on the Metro system with 2,000-plus buses. So essentially, to handle the level of demand for the Olympics and Paralympics, that's like a whole other system,' Wiggins said.
Better known as L.A. Metro, the transit authority for the nation's most populous county operates a public transportation system that includes bus routes, subway lines, light rail and commuter rail.
Buses, though, are the primary mode of public transportation driving the $3.2 billion funding request submitted late last year to then President-elect Donald Trump. Just like the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City did, L.A. plans to borrow buses from transit agencies around the country to transport spectators.
The cost of using loaners adds up to about $2 billion.
'That means you're paying for their mechanics, the bus operators, their wages, and all the supporting infrastructure; as well as making some improvements on mobility hubs that doesn't degrade the experience of the million essential riders that we're carrying today,' Wiggins said.
She expressed confidence that Washington will help pay for what she repeatedly called a 'rail revolution' already underway with the rail network expected to be expanded throughout Los Angeles County by 2028.
'Our ask has been submitted, and we expect it to be favorably received,' Wiggins said. 'These are America's games. We want to make sure they're spectacular for everyone. Fundamentally, I'm sure no one wants a degraded experience for the existing folks who ride our system.'
With support from the federal government as well as state and local entities, she said the county's public transportation system will be ready for what will be the third Summer Games held in Los Angeles.
'This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The whole world will be watching,' Wiggins said. 'Given the $17 billion that we're already investing in our rail revolution, this is definitely something that the federal government will have a return on investment on.'
Olympics leaders have said they're confident the needed support will be there.
After lobbying in Washington, D.C., earlier this month, U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee Chair Gene Sykes told reporters there's 'tremendous support from the administration and members of Congress. There is great excitement and focus on the L.A. '28 Games."
In making the request, L.A. Metro officials reportedly noted the federal government came up with $1.3 billion for the 2002 Winter Games and $609 million for 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta.
The federal government's financial support for the Salt Lake Games also included a big boost in funding for security that came in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.
Since the deadly bombing at the Atlanta Games in 1996, an Olympics in the U.S. has been considered a National Special Security Event, like a Super Bowl, where the Secret Service is in charge of security.
When the Winter Games return to Utah, in 2034, the amount of funding needed from the federal government for security needs and spectator transportation has been estimated at less than $1 billion.
Federal support is not part of the budget for the state's next Olympics that adds up to $4 billion, all of it raised from private sources, largely the sale of broadcast rights, sponsorships and tickets.
And while the Utah Transit Authority has long been talking about projects that will help with hosting again, such as a TRAX Orange Line from Salt Lake City International Airport to University of Utah Research Park, organizers have not yet developed detailed plans.
In the detailed bid documents Utah put together for the International Olympic Committee, a projected 2.75 million spectators would be moved through the 'expanded use of transit bus systems along with the existing light rail and commuter rail systems.'
The bid, submitted a few months before the Winter Games were awarded in July 2024, also pledges, 'The local systems would be augmented with borrowed equipment from across the United States and supported by federal government funding as was the case in 2002.'