New Funding to Electrify Buses in LA Assists in Preparation for the 2028 Olympic Games

LOS ANGELES –  Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass  welcomed U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to Los Angeles July 18 to highlight the ways in which Los Angeles is preparing for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games to benefit Angelenos for decades to come. 

Leaders highlighted federal investments to expand L.A’s public transportation system and better connect to Exposition Park, home to renowned cultural attractions and core 2028 Games venues. Mayor Bass, Secretary Buttigieg and local leaders rode the Metro E Line from South L.A. to Exposition Park where they highlighted continued preparations for the Olympics. They then toured Metro Division 13, a bus maintenance facility, to speak with bus operators and tour an electric bus, an example of the vehicles that the new grant funding will help purchase. New funding of nearly $80 million was announced to electrify Metro buses to reduce air pollution following nearly $900 million in federal funding announced earlier this year. 

“With funding made possible by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re helping connect even more people across LA County with affordable, reliable public transportation,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “These investments will help increase Metro ridership, get more cars off the road, make the air in LA cleaner for every single adult, and child, who breathes it in each day. And in four years when LA hosts the Olympics for the third time, Angelenos and Olympians alike will know just how efficient this region’s public transit can be. “

The Low or No Emission grant funding announced today will go toward zero-emission buses and charging infrastructure. It is the second largest funding award out of more than 100 projects funded by the federal government. The grant funding provided by the Federal Transit Administration will allow Metro to procure battery-electric buses, charging equipment, and supporting infrastructure to provide reliable zero-emission service along bus routes that operate from Metro’s Bus Division 7 in West Hollywood. These zero-emission buses will replace compressed natural gas buses that have exceeded their useful service life, creating more sustainable transportation options ahead of upcoming international sporting events hosted in Los Angeles.

In March, the Los Angeles region secured nearly $900 million in funding to strengthen critical infrastructure, expand the Metro Rail system and reconnect communities ahead of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. L.A. Metro received $709.9 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Fiscal Year 2024 transportation spending law, which will go toward projects including sections two and three of the D Line (Purple) Subway Extension Project. The Los Angeles region also received $160 million in new federal grant funding for street and transit infrastructure, traffic safety and to improve connections between neighborhoods. This includes $139 million from the Reconnecting Communities grant program that will directly improve transportation mobility access during the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games and create lasting enhancements for communities.