As the 2028 Olympic Games, to be hosted in Los Angeles and throughout the region, gets closer, government officials are working to bolster the region’s infrastructure and transportation to prepare for the major summer event.
That includes one proposal from Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who represents the fourth district, calling for the creation of a new water taxi that would run between San Pedro and Long Beach’s Rainbow Harbor. Hahn originally proposed the earlier this year.
The project won a first major victory about a month after Hahn pitched it, when the proposal was approved by the LA Metro Ad-Hoc Committee in May. Metro, as part of that vote, embarked on a study to determine the project’s environmental footprint, safety measures, where to create new docks and terminals, how much it would cost to build, and whether local, state or federal funding would help pay for the water taxi’s startup and operation.
That report is expected to come back sometime in November.
But in the meantime, Hahn’s office is working to build support for the effort with elected, government and industry officials from both San Pedro and Long Beach.
So Hahn hosted an exclusive water taxi demonstration on a Harbor Breeze Cruises boat, which left from the Los Angeles Maritime Museum on Monday morning, Oct. 6, and arrived at Rainbow Harbor in Long Beach just about 20 minutes later — with a veritable who’s who of relevant movers and shakers in tow.
“We hand-picked each and every one of you to ride with us today, because each of you represents a different sector, a different population, a different interest,” Hahn said aboard the boat on Monday morning. “And we think together, we could actually work to make this happen — and it would be one of the more interesting lasting legacies for LA28.”
Water taxi demo attendees included Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson, Councilmembers Megan Kerr of District 5 and Cindy Allen of District 2, state Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán, D-Harbor City, Assemblymember Mike Gipson, LA28 representatives, local longshore union members, San Pedro Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Elise Swanson, various representatives from the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, and Caltrans officials, among others.
Richardson, who is already on board with Hahn’s proposal, said Monday the water taxi would serve a crucial role in providing an easier connection between the Los Angeles waterfront and Long Beach during the Games, especially since the latter city is set to host 18 Olympic and Paralympic events — the most of any venue city outside of LA itself.
“This is an incredible opportunity we have, this is an Olympic moment we’re in — not just to showcase how incredible our region is for tourists that come to town,” Richardson said, “but also to leave better systems in place for the people who actually live here long term. We’ve got to make sure how we get people to our city and out of our city efficiently.”
Establishing a water taxi service from San Pedro to Long Beach will be a complicated effort with many moving parts, Hahn said — but it’s not impossible. The supervisor reminded the crowd that before the Vincent Thomas Bridge was built in the 1960s, people used to commute across the bay by a car ferry departing from the LA Maritime Institute.
And speaking of the V-T Bridge, Hahn added, now is also a good time to begin work on a water taxi service because the bridge will be fully closed for 16 months, starting in summer 2026, for a full deck replacement. That project will take about a year to complete, and will inevitably cause delays for commuters going to and from San Pedro and Long Beach.
Though some have lobbied for the water taxi to open before the bridge closes next summer, that’s unlikely, given that there’s still many details about the plan to be nailed down, including cost and funding.
On the funding front, state and federal representatives on Monday said they’re gearing up to go to bat in their respective arenas to get money for not only the water taxi project — but also other Olympics-related infrastructure for the region.
Gonzalez, for example, said that she and other members of the Senate’s Special Committee on International Sporting Events is planning to push for additional funding for the Los Angeles Olympics in upcoming sessions. Barragán said she’s similarly prepared to fight for federal dollars to support the Olympics.
“We’ve just got to make sure the federal government is an equal partner in helping fund all the transportation needs that California is going to need — we’ve got to continue to push for that,” Barragán said. “Know that in Congress, we are, (but) I will say, anything related to California is a little bit of a challenge.”
That challenge, of course, comes from the Trump administration’s unwillingness to support California with federal dollars, citing opposition to various state policies and elected officials generally. The administration has already cut or blocked billions in federal dollars to countless programs, policies, initiatives and institutions in the state.
“Some people have said that this president wants to take credit for the success. And I say, look, if that means getting money here, we can let him pretend like it was him,” Barragan said, “but we know who’s doing the work, and it’s the people in this room. So we’re gonna fight to make sure to get every bit of funding here.”
LaTanya Sheffield, director of Cal State Long Beach’s track and field program and an Olympian who served as head women’s coach for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics, also attended the event and expressed her support for the project.
“I just want to bring you guys to the clear understanding that you are the team behind the team,” Sheffield said. “You’re behind the scenes, but I’m here to tell you that your results, they will definitely be worldwide. Thank you for all your efforts for making this a better Olympic Games for our athletes, but more importantly, even just for our citizens.”
With Hahn’s water taxi demo certainly making waves and drumming up excitement for the project, it’s now time to wait for the results of Metro’s report — which should take the effort one step closer to becoming a reality before LA28 finally arrives.