May 14, 2025
Los Angeles, CA – During its meeting this morning, Metro’s Ad-Hoc Committee on the Olympic and Paralympic Games unanimously approved a motion by Metro Board of Directors Chair and Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn to explore the feasibility of a water taxi between San Pedro and Long Beach during the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The City of Long Beach will host 11 sports during the Games — the second most of any city behind Los Angeles. Everything from beach volleyball at Alamitos Beach, to coastal rowing at the Waterfront, to sport climbing and water polo at the Long Beach Convention Center.
“If we are serious about people taking transit to every Olympic event, we need to get creative. The water taxi’s time has come. It would offer residents, workers, and tourists an alternative to driving and parking at the Games venues that’s not only reliable and affordable, but fun as well,” said Hahn. “It’s time to explore what it would take to get this idea off the ground and into the water.”
Hahn’s proposed water taxi will offer an innovative public transport connection for San Pedro and surrounding communities, as well as for riders along Metro’s J (Silver) Line, which runs along the El Monte Busway and Harbor Transitway from El Monte to San Pedro via Downtown Los Angeles.
Olympics attendees could also park at the Harbor Gateway Transit Center in Gardena and take the J Line to San Pedro to catch the water taxi, significantly relieving traffic congestion in and around Long Beach and on the Vincent Thomas Bridge.
There is precedent for Hahn’s proposed water taxi; a water ferry service between San Pedro and Long Beach with a stop at Terminal Island existed before the construction of the Vincent Thomas Bridge. The ferry was operated by both private and municipal companies and provided transportation for workers, residents, and commuters.
Long Beach Transit already operates two water taxi services: the AquaBus, which operates within Rainbow Harbor, and the AquaLink, which connects Alamitos Bay to Rainbow Harbor.
The water taxi proposal has earned widespread support. Hahn’s motion was co-authored by her colleagues on the Metro Board, Mayor Karen Bass, Metro Vice Chair Fernando Dutra, Inglewood Mayor James Butts, and Director Jacquelin Dupont-Walker. During the meeting, representatives of ILWU Local 13, Los Angeles City Councilmember Tim McOsker, Long Beach Councilwoman Tunua Thrash-Ntuk, Long Beach Councilwoman Mary Zendejas, the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce, the LA Maritime Institute, the Battleship Iowa, and LA Harbor Commissioner Lee Williams voiced their strong support for the proposal.
Hahn’s motion will be voted on by the full Metro Board of Directors in their monthly meeting next Thursday, May 22, 2025.
Last week, Los Angeles County Su-pervisor Janice Hahn is applauding news that Long Beach will host 11 sports in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and Paralym-pic Games – making Long Beach the host of the second highest number of sports of any city in the county after Los Angeles.
In light of this news, Hahn is propos-ing that Metro operate a water taxi from San Pedro to Long Beach during the games.
“Congratulations to Mayor Rex Rich-ardson and the entire Long Beach team on securing 11 Olympic sports that will showcase so much of what makes Long Beach so special,” said Hahn.
“Long Beach will be the place to be in 2028 and I want us to get creative about how people will get there. I am proposing that Metro operate a water taxi between San Pedro and Long Beach as a fun and innovative way to get people around during the games.”
Long Beach will host everything from beach volleyball at Alamitos Beach, to coastal rowing at the Waterfront, to sport climbing and water polo at the Long Beach Convention Center.
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