How is LA Metro going to pay for the nearly 3,000 buses needed for the 2028 Olympics?

After a trip to Paris, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has seen some flashing warning lights as her city prepares to host the 2028 Olympics. 

"When we were in Paris, the message was clear: There is no time to waste in preparing for the games," she said. Preparing for the 2028 games and the many other international sporting events will take all levels of government working together."

Among the most urgent issues right now is how the city and Los Angeles County will find and pay for the thousands of buses promised to help transport the tens of thousands of people expected to descend on Southern California for the games. 

"Our top-line estimate is that we will need 2,700, and that is almost doubling Metro's current fleet," Metro's Chief Innovation Officer Selena Reynolds said. 

Reynolds believes it will cost Metro nearly $1 billion to stem the shortage. 

"The cost estimate for it is anywhere from $700 million to $1 billion," Reynolds said. "I just want to make it really clear there are no discretionary grants that the federal government offers that will cover operations at that scale."

So far, no one has stepped up to pay for them — not the LA Olympics Committee, Metro or the federal government. 

Mayor Bass was well aware of the mind-boggling financial burden the Olympics will have. She made a point today of thanking the federal government for almost $1 billion, much of which will be used to finish the subway to Westwood. However, none of the money will go towards the nearly 3,000 buses.

"This nearly $900 million in federal funding that is coming to the region to expand Metro's rail system ahead of the games will be vital for our success," she said.

However, Professor James Moore, the director of the Transporation Engineering program at USC, said the Olympics transportation plan was built on shaky ground at best. 

"Shaky is generous," Moore said. "When the plan came out, my colleague Tom Rubin and I tore it apart, tore into it. 

Moore added that the pair looked into the "assumptions" behind the funding, expense and product delivery. They tried to determine how sensible the plan was. 

"It wasn't frankly sensible at all. I'm really sort of surprised it took a trip to Paris for the city leadership to figure out how much trouble they're in right now," Moore said. 

Moore said he had one piece of advice to give local officials. 

"Use this opportunity to substantially improve the level of transportation service and transit service available in LA," he said. "Keep in mind that in 1984, the 84 Olympics really were the inception for our massive investment in automated traffic control. We went from a handful of coordinate traffic signals in the vicinity of the coliseum to a system that is 5,000 strong."

Moore added that the city must place an added emphasis on bus lanes to prepare for the games.