LA 2028 Transit Funding Seeks $2 Billion in Support

LA 2028 transit funding remains a central issue in transportation preparations for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with LA Metro seeking $2 billion in federal support for an expanded bus and public transport plan.

The approach draws partly on the strategy used during the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, when rented buses ran from designated park-and-ride sites to carry ticket holders to venues. Moving spectators out of private cars helped reduce road traffic and kept freeways moving.

LA Metro plans to use a similar model in 2028, but on a much larger scale. Alongside its own fleet of 2,100 vehicles, the agency expects to need 1,750 additional buses obtained from elsewhere in the United States. The transport system is preparing for as many as 1 million extra transit trips per day during the Games.

Federal funding remains unresolved

Metro has requested $2 billion from the federal government for its Olympic mobility plan. So far, $875 million has passed the House Appropriations Committee but has not yet gone to the Senate. President Donald Trump’s fiscal year 2027 budget request did not include funding for Los Angeles Olympic transportation.

Congress approved $94.3 million earlier in 2026. Southern California lawmakers said the money helps but remains well below what local agencies say is required. They also said the White House had not indicated that the entire requested amount would be provided.

On Friday, the White House said transportation funding discussions were still at an early stage and involved members of Congress and the Los Angeles Olympic organizing committee.

Rep. Laura Friedman, D-Glendale, said:

“When Los Angeles took on the games, we were promised federal support. Unfortunately, at this point, we have a federal administration who has not provided the resources around mobility,”

Friedman joined four other members of Southern California’s congressional delegation at a transportation meeting in West Hollywood on Wednesday, Aug. 26. They questioned local transit officials about preparations to prevent gridlock during the Olympic Games and discussed what Congress could do to support those plans.

Friedman said:

“What I am most concerned about is if we don’t receive that additional funding,”

The meeting took place only weeks before Congress was expected to make a decision on the request.

Friedman said:

“There is still time but time is fast running out,”

Without additional federal support, LA Metro’s full mobility plan will not be implemented. That would mean less reliable public transportation and more congestion on roads, freeways and around venues for visitors, spectators, athletes and Los Angeles residents.

The Olympic Games are scheduled for July 14 through July 30, 2028, followed by the Paralympic Games from Aug. 15 through Aug. 27.

Friedman said many international visitors will arrive without access to private vehicles.

“Visitors who will come here don’t have a car. They get off an airplane and probably don’t even have a driver’s license,”

She added:

“They come from countries where public transportation is the norm.”

Metrolink also considers federal funding crucial to its Olympic preparations. The six-county regional passenger rail operator plans to run trains more frequently on key routes during the Games.

The agency is already using part of the $94 million in federal funding it has received. In July, Metrolink awarded a construction contract for track and signal improvements on the San Bernardino Line between San Bernardino County and Los Angeles.

Metrolink chief strategy officer Paul Hubler wrote in an emailed response:

“The project will support more frequent service during the 2028 Games and beyond, allowing trains to operate up to every 30 minutes in each direction. Federal funding will be essential to putting this additional service into operation,”

A Trump administration official said by email that the White House remained in the early stages of the funding discussions. According to the official, the administration had been meeting with Los Angeles officials, members of Congress and the L.A. Olympic organizing committee at the highest levels.

The official did not say Trump had committed to providing the full $2 billion requested by LA Metro, but said talks were continuing.

The official added that the Trump Administration:

“is actively doing its part to ensure the resources needed are secured to ensure this is the greatest Olympics in history.”

Friedman responded Friday afternoon:

“I welcome the White House’s commitment to working with local officials on the Olympic and Paralympic Games. But to make these Games a success, Los Angeles and the federal government need to be a united front, and that begins with supporting these investments. So far, the White House hasn’t included the critical federal investments for transit Los Angeles needs in their budget request,”

World Cup operations tested the transit plan

LA Metro tested part of its Games Enhanced Transit Service concept during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

For eight matches at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood during June and July, the agency established 15 park-and-ride hubs stretching from the San Fernando Valley to Orange County. Ticket holders could take dedicated bus shuttles directly to the stadium for $1.75 each way.

About 212,000 rides were recorded on the special bus service, according to Friedman. Metro also carried 2 million more riders in June than during the same month a year earlier, while the agency reported no major security incidents.

LA Metro Chief Customer Experience Officer Jennifer Vides said the overall system delivered about 500,000 trips during the tournament. That total included passengers using the supplemental World Cup Games Enhanced Transit Service, or World Cup GETS, as well as people travelling on Metro trains and buses to matches, fan zones and related events.

Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove described the tournament as a preparation exercise for 2028.

“The 2026 World Cup was the ultimate test run for the 2028 Olympics,”

Metro intends to build on the tournament experience for the Olympic and Paralympic programme. Vides said the difference in scale will be substantial.

“Scaling operations for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games presents a challenge 100 times more complex, spanning 49 venues and over 800 events,”

Friedman likewise described the World Cup operation as a pilot that must be expanded substantially for the Olympics.

“The World Cup proved that Los Angeles can deliver, but eight matches at one stadium over five weeks is not the same as sixteen days of events at dozens of venues across the region,”

Rail and bus infrastructure has expanded since 1984

Los Angeles County’s public transport network is considerably different from the one available when the city hosted the Olympics in 1984.

Six major rail lines and two busways have since been added. They will provide direct connections to some Olympic venues, including Crypto.com Arena for gymnastics and boxing and the L.A. Memorial Coliseum for track and field and as a co-host of the opening ceremony.

Metro also reports that about 50 bus-only lanes now exist.

Rail and Bus Rapid Transit routes can connect passengers with Olympic transit hubs at rail or busway stations, providing a one-transfer trip to a venue without requiring them to drive there.

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LA Metro’s Games Enhanced Transit Service also includes special freeway lanes for spectators, athletes, media personnel and International Olympic Committee officials.

Caltrans has committed to establishing a Games Route Network. Metro describes the concept as resembling carpool lanes, with striped lanes and overhead monitoring used to move Olympic traffic to and from venues.

The plan also links lower traffic congestion with reduced air pollution and fewer greenhouse gas emissions during the Games.

Bill Magavern, policy director for the Coalition For Clean Air, said:

“For the Olympics, we don’t want gridlock and we don’t want more smog inhibiting the health of athletes or spectators,”

He added:

“The L.A. region still has the worst air pollution in the country.”

Magavern also argued that buses used for the Games should rely on cleaner energy. LA Metro says it will use compressed natural gas or electric buses.

“There’s no question zero-emission buses with no tailpipe emissions would be best for the health of everyone in the region,”

Questions remain over federal approval

Concerns have also been raised about whether Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will respond positively to plans for more buses, bike lanes and less-polluting modes of transportation during the Games.

Magavern said Duffy had referred to bike lanes as “woke” and had defunded money for safer bike-lane infrastructure.

Magavern said:

“All of his policies have been directed toward increasing air pollution, that results in more congestion,”

He added:

“Duffy has been bad for public transit.”

Duffy did not respond to a request for comment.

Friedman said she nevertheless intends to lobby Duffy for the requested $2 billion. As a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, she is also asking other California representatives to press Congress and the Trump Administration to act on the larger funding request.

Magavern said he was uncertain how Trump would ultimately respond. He pointed to tensions between the administration and California while also noting Trump’s interest in major sporting events.

“One one hand, Trump has done everything he can to take funding away from California, on the other hand, Trump loves a big sporting spectacle,”

He added:

“He would not want the Olympics to be a failure. There are competing tendencies here.”

The White House official rejected the suggestion that the administration was not doing enough to secure funding.

“Any notion that the White House is not doing enough to secure funding for the LA 2028 Olympics is simply false.”

Context

LA Metro’s Olympic transport preparations extend beyond the temporary enhanced bus service. The agency’s official 2028 programme lists 28 transport projects totaling $20 billion, with 39% completed, 25% under construction and 36% still in design. In material submitted to Congress in January 2026, Metro also projected 12–15 million ticket holders for the Games and said Olympic-related transport work should not reduce existing service for regular riders. The agency argued that additional federal funding is needed so Games preparations can be added to normal transit operations rather than compromise existing service levels.

Friedman said the Olympics belong to all of America, not only Los Angeles, and argued that the federal government should fully support the event.

“I hope the administration doesn’t try to hurt L.A. and hurt the Olympics. To risk the Olympics because you want to hurt California? I hope this president is not that petty,”