Meeting_Body
OPERATIONS, SAFETY, AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE COMMITTEE
OCTOBER 15, 2026
Subject
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON COLLABORATIVE FUNDING STRATEGY FOR WATER TAXI SERVICE BETWEEN SAN PEDRO AND LONG BEACH
Action
ACTION: RECEIVE ORAL REPORT
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE oral report on collaborative funding strategy for water taxi service between San Pedro and Long Beach.
Issue
ISSUE
At its July 2026 meeting, the Board approved Motion 50 by Directors Hahn, Bass, and Richardson (Attachment A) directing the Chief Executive Officer to convene regional partners, including Metro, the County of Los Angeles, the City of Los Angeles, the City of Long Beach to determine each agency’s willingness to participate in funding the implementation and operation of a San Pedro-Long Beach water taxi service during the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Motion also called for Metro to develop a proposed cost-sharing framework, pursue grant funding, develop reimbursement protocols, and take necessary steps to advance the implementation of the project to a procurement.
This report summarizes the results of convenings to date with other agencies, describes a potential funding opportunity that has been secured by Metro staff (see Attachment B), and outlines next steps needed to refine service details and funding commitments for operation to begin in FY2028.
Equity Platform
EQUITY PLATFORM
An equity analysis has not been performed as part of this study. Should this service be considered for implementation, an equity analysis will be conducted.
Vehicle_Miles_Traveled_Outcome
VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED OUTCOME
VMT and VMT per capita in Los Angeles County are lower than national averages, the lowest in the SCAG region, and on the lower end of VMT per capita statewide, with these declining VMT trends due in part to Metro’s significant investment in rail and bus transit.* Metro’s Board-adopted VMT reduction targets align with California’s statewide climate goals, including achieving carbon neutrality by 2045. To ensure continued progress, all Board items are assessed for their potential impact on VMT.
As part of these ongoing efforts, this item is expected to contribute to further reductions in VMT. This item supports Metro’s systemwide strategy to reduce VMT through planning activities that will further encourage transit ridership, ridesharing, and active transportation, or, in this case, explore the possibility of water-based transportation to reduce automobile VMT. Metro’s Board-adopted VMT reduction targets were designed to build on the success of existing investments, and this item aligns with those objectives.
*Based on population estimates from the United States Census and VMT estimates from Caltrans’ Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) data between 2001-2019.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Motion 50
Attachment B - Alliance of Local Transit Operators on Prop A Incentive Funding for 2028 Olympic Water Taxi
Prepared_by
Prepared by:
Cosette Stark, Executive Officer, Local Programming, (213) 922-2822
Allison Yoh, Senior Executive Officer, Countywide Planning & Development, (213) 922-4812
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by:
Ray Sosa, Chief Planning Officer, (213) 547-4274
Michelle Navarro, Chief Financial Officer (Interim), (213) 922-3056
