LA Metro Requests $2 Billion in Federal Funding for Olympic Transportation

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On August 26, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) requested approximately $2 billion in federal funding to implement its transportation plan for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and Paralympics. Five Los Angeles-area members of Congress that day urged the federal government to expedite the funding arrangement, with Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove requesting in a letter to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy that the funds be made available by September 1.

Approximately half of the funding will be used for the temporary deployment, operation, and storage of about 1,700 buses to shuttle spectators and staff between competition venues, rail transit stations, and temporary park-and-ride hubs. LA Metro currently operates about 2,200 buses, and daily trips are expected to increase by approximately 1 million during the Games.

The remaining funds are planned for the Olympic transportation dedicated road network, pedestrian facilities around venues, temporary bus depots, transfer hubs, and station improvements. The competition road network will feature dedicated lanes between athlete villages, competition venues, and other event facilities; enhanced transit services will include bus fleets, maintenance and charging depots, and additional drivers, mechanics, dispatchers, and on-site managers.

The U.S. Congress had already approved $94.3 million in event transportation funding in February 2026 for service planning, temporary bus land leases, depot design, station experience upgrades, light rail facility improvements, and pedestrian connection engineering design. The House Appropriations Committee subsequently included $875 million in the fiscal year 2027 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill, which still requires further legislative procedures.

LA Metro is also advancing 28 transportation projects targeting 2028, with a total investment of approximately $20 billion. To date, 39% of the projects have been completed, 25% are under construction, and 36% are in the design phase, covering bus rapid transit corridors, bike lanes, pedestrian facilities, rail stations, and integrated transportation hubs.