The idea of Los Angeles Olympics spectators traveling via boat to reach venues in Long Beach and San Pedro got much more serious this week.
Read more Angel City FC closing in on 2nd NWSL playoff berth
The project received $1 million via LA Metro and local transit agencies from a fund generated through county taxpayers, moving the project a huge step forward.
The proposal had previously received the blessing from LA Metro, a positive rating in a feasibility study, and drew interest from several experienced ferry operators who answered the agency’s request for possible operators in July.
Now, the crucial issue of how to pay for it has been addressed.
“The biggest hurdle to making a water taxi happen has always been funding, and now we have it,” said Fourth District Los Angeles County Supervisor and LA Metro Director Janice Hahn, who floated the idea in April 2025 and has since steered it through some choppy waters.
“A water taxi between San Pedro and Long Beach isn’t just a fun idea — it’s realistic, and we’re one step closer to making it happen,” Hahn added.
Questions about obtaining funds and nailing down an operator for a short-term water taxi swirled around the proposal early on. The funding grant removes one obstacle, but an operator has yet to be secured.
The money comes from Proposition A, a half-cent sales tax for transportation projects in L.A. County approved by 54% of voters in 1980. Part of the measure’s tax dollars is controlled by the Alliance of Local Transit Operators, a group of 40 smaller transit agencies from various cities that run their own bus services that augment LA Metro’s bus and rail operations.
In a letter to Michelle Anelli-Navarro, interim chief financial officer for LA Metro, the Alliance gave LA Metro $1 million from Prop. A’s Subregional Paratransit Program for the pilot water taxi service that will operate only during the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Sebastián Andrés Hernández of the city of Pasadena, on behalf of the Alliance, wrote in the letter their support for “world class mobility” during the upcoming Olympics, while also providing services for transit-dependent populations.
“Metro staff appreciates the Alliance’s collaboration, support, and partnership in recognizing this initiative as a regional mobility option for the Games,” wrote Metro spokesman Jose Ubaldo in an emailed response.
The funding will be budgeted in the fiscal year 2027-2028 LA Metro budget, which must be approved by the transit agency’s board of directors.
A water taxi service would be limited to about 47 days during both Olympic and Paralympic games in July and August 2028. Preliminary estimates put the cost between $913,000 and $1.5 million.
The preferred landing sites would connect San Pedro at its West Harbor with Long Beach at Shoreline Village/Rainbow Harbor. Currently, privately operated water shuttles run from Long Beach to Aquarium of the Pacific, the Queen Mary and Alamitos Bay.
No water taxis currently connect Long Beach with San Pedro. The road connection for San Pedro-to-Long Beach commuter traffic is through the Vincent Thomas Bridge. The bridge will be closed starting Nov. 7 for new decking. It is set to re-open February 2028.
A one-way ride on an Olympic water taxi would range from 30 minutes on a faster, 32-knot vessel, and up to 55 minutes with a low-speed 10-knot vessel, the feasibility report stated. This may be about equal to driving time, or faster, depending on traffic.
Read more World Series: Brewers withstand Rays’ comeback bid to win Game 1
Typically, costs for passenger ferries in other U.S. cities range from $1 to $9.75 for one-way adult fares, said the feasibility report. The report does not suggest a fare for this special Olympic water taxi, saying only that it should integrate with the transit agency’s TAP card payment system. A one-way ride on a LA Metro train or bus is $1.75.
Hahn and LA Metro believe that a water taxi connecting Long Beach and San Pedro will take cars off the local freeways, roads and bridges, reduce congestion, and cut tailpipe smog precursors and greenhouse gas emissions that cause global climate change.
Fans could get to the water taxi by taking the LA Metro J Line (Silver) from El Monte to the harbor in San Pedro, where the water taxi would ferry them to Long Beach, thus avoiding freeway traffic and parking fees at venues, said Hahn.
The water taxi would be the only official LA Metro transit project built for the July and August 2028 L.A. Olympic and Paralympic Games that’s not a train, bus, car, dedicated freeway lane or some other land-based option.
The report said roadway traffic would be congested between the two areas during the games. The Olympic Games will run from July 14 to July 30, 2028 with the Paralympic Games set to run Aug. 15 through Aug. 27 that year.
Long Beach will host 11 sporting events for the Olympics, including water polo, sailing and beach volleyball. The city will host seven events for the Paralympic Games.
The Port of Los Angeles will host six boating/sailing events, recapturing the last time the harbor included such events during the 1932 Olympic Games.
In addition, San Pedro will host an Olympics fan zone. Recently, the president of the Croatian Olympic Committee signed an agreement to establish Croatia House in San Pedro, a cultural venue celebrating Croatian heritage during the Olympics and serving as a gathering place for athletes, fans and locals, LA Metro reported.
“Establishing a water taxi connection would not only support crowd flow and regional mobility but also spotlights San Pedro as a welcoming and dynamic part of the Olympic and Paralympic experience,” wrote LA Metro in a feasibility report released in May 2025.
The San Pedro Chamber of Commerce has been pushing for such a water taxi for more than 20 years.
“I can’t wait for a water taxi. And I’m so encouraged (by the report),” said Elise Swanson, president and CEO of the Chamber earlier this year.
The supervisor, whose district includes Long Beach, San Pedro and the South Bay, also believes inviting tourists on board to attend the games means they enjoy a picturesque boat ride while catching a venue event rather then sitting in their car or on a bus.
“The Olympics are a once-in-a-generation opportunity to show off our incredible harbor to the world. We should seize this opportunity and make it happen,” Hahn said.
Read more Orange County scores and player stats for Friday, Oct. 23