Metro - File #: 2026-0456

• File #: 2026-0456
• Type: Informational Report
• Status: Agenda Ready
• File created: 6/3/2026
• In control: Operations, Safety, and Customer Experience Committee
• On agenda: 7/16/2026
• Title: RECEIVE AND FILE an update on the feasibility of water taxi service between San Pedro and Long Beach.
• Sponsors: Board of Directors - Regular Board Meeting
• Indexes: Advertising, Certification, City of Los Angeles, Construction, Contractors, Contracts, Gateway Cities (Southeast LA County) Service Sector, Gateway Cities subregion, Grant Aid, Guidelines, Informational Report, Labor, Local Returns, Logistics, Long Beach, Motion / Motion Response, Olympic games, Outreach, Partnerships, Peak periods, Procurement, Public private partnerships, Queuing, Ramps (Interchanges), Request For Proposal, Revenue Service, Ridership, Rolling stock, Safety and security, San Pedro, Security, South Bay Cities subregion, South Bay Service Sector, Strategic planning, Taxi services, Tourism, Travel time, Zoning

Meeting_Body
OPERATIONS, SAFETY, AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE COMMITTEE
JULY 16, 2026

Subject
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON FEASIBILITY OF WATER TAXI SERVICE FROM SAN PEDRO TO LONG BEACH

Action
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE

Heading
RECOMMENDATION

Title
RECEIVE AND FILE an update on the feasibility of water taxi service between San Pedro and Long Beach.

Issue
ISSUE

At its December 2025 meeting, the Board approved Motion 18 (Attachment A) by Directors Hahn, Bass, Dutra, Dupont-Walker, Butts, and Sandoval directing the Chief Executive Officer to: A) conduct an industry engagement process (i.e., reverse pitch) to identify operator interest, capabilities, and partnership opportunities to deliver a water-taxi service between San Pedro and Long Beach during the 2028 Games; B) assess funding options for special event service; and C) report to the Board with findings, including potential partnership structures, proposed implementation timeline, and next steps. This report summarizes findings from the reverse pitch process, discusses the funding landscape for future service, and outlines next steps.

Background
BACKGROUND

In November 2025, Metro released the San Pedro-Long Beach Water Taxi Feasibility Study ("Feasibility Study"), which assessed maritime service options to supplement existing transportation modes, identified infrastructure needs, and outlined next steps for establishing a Games-time and a long-term water taxi service.

Building on findings from the Feasibility Study, Metro issued a Request for Information (RFI) on April 7, 2026, inviting firms, operators, and partners in the maritime passenger transport industry to share their interest and capabilities in providing a water taxi service during the 2028 Games. Six entities submitted responses, and five were invited to present their proposals directly to the Office of Strategic Innovation (OSI) in May 2026.

Staff promoted the RFI through multiple channels, including Metro's website (metro.net/water-transp...