On Thursday, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stood in front of the famous colonnades of the Los Angeles Coliseum, site of the 1984 Olympics opening ceremony, and announced a $77 million cash infusion for Metro to pay for more electric buses. cost.
The buses will help transport tens of thousands of fans across the city in what’s being dubbed a “transit-first” Olympics and are one of thousands of details officials need to sort out before Los Angeles hosts the 2028 Games. The influx of funding will help the Metropolitan Transportation Authority expand its efforts to make its more than 2,000 buses fully electric by 2030.
“Angelenos and Olympians will know how efficient public transportation is in the area. It’s an investment in the future. And the countdown will begin.”
The MTA’s goal is to purchase electric buses, charging equipment and supporting infrastructure to provide reliable zero-emission service in multiple cities within Los Angeles County.
Buttigieg spent the day in Los Angeles, riding subways, boarding trains, riding buses and touting the funding the region received as part of the Biden administration’s $1 trillion infrastructure bill that has provided the metro with expanded rail lines Millions of dollars were injected into the system and ports, and new projects launched. But most Los Angeles officials are focused on the 2028 Olympics, just days away in Paris.
More than a million people are expected to travel to the Los Angeles area for the 17-day Games, with organizers hoping they will take public transportation, walk or bike to the venues. That would be quite a feat for a sprawling metropolis known for its highway congestion. So local leaders are using the Olympics to add urgency to their wish lists, such as a fleet of electric buses. The strategy brought in some money, but it didn’t solve the logistical challenges of transporting large numbers of tourists on a daily basis.
Metro has asked the Biden administration for an additional $319 million next year to cover Olympics-related costs, including $45 million to plan and design a supplemental bus system to transport fans to venues and $14 million to provide Athletes and athletes design routes.
Buttigieg said he can’t “reach beyond the White House,” but his department has been providing technical support to members of Congress who are weighing how to fund the Olympics.
But so far, no promises have been made. Mayor Bass, who will travel to Paris next week for the Olympics, said she believes President Joe Biden, who is facing a tight race, will help Los Angeles.
“The White House has been supporting us from day one,” she said Thursday on the grass outside the stadium. “There’s a staff member there who is dedicated to the Olympics and we’re in constant contact with him. So I’m very encouraged.
Then-Mayor Eric Garcetti secured the 2028 Olympics, selling them to the public as a landmark event that would bring in millions, while There will be no burden on taxpayers. But transportation proved tricky. A table shows the cost of doubling the number of buses to give fans better access to public transportation around the city is expected to exceed $1 billion.
And the buses purchased through federal grants will not expand the fleet or help the agency achieve its electrification goals. There are too many obstacles to achieving this goal, including a lack of chargers and a shrinking number of manufacturers able to offer electric buses.
Bass and many other members of the metro’s board of directors, including the supervisory board, will now travel to Paris to observe how the city handles the Olympics and Paralympics.
In terms of funding, they are on the sidelines.
Incoming Metro executive board chair Janice Hahn said she and Bass pitched Buttigieg while riding the B Line on Thursday and stressed that the federal government should provide help for the Olympics.
“We want to show that we shouldn’t do it alone,” she said. “We can use federal funds to help us.”
City News contributed to this report.
