Metro committee moves forward on $9.4-billion budget as Olympics funding remains uncertain
With a fiscal deficit on the horizon and billions of dollars in federal funding requests still up in the air, a Metropolitan Transportation Authority committee voted to move forward with a $9.4- billion budget for the 2026 fiscal year — a 2% increase of more than $180 million from the previous budget.
During a public budget hearing on Thursday and in written comments, residents cited safety as a top priority for Metro after a spate of violence against bus operators in recent years, and regular reports of crime in and around Metro stations. The transit agency's proposal includes more than $390 million for public safety — a nearly 2% increase from the last fiscal year.
The bulk of the budget would go to transit operations, with nearly $3 billion marked for rail and bus expansion and more than $2 billion for infrastructure planning for projects, including the Vermont Transit Corridor bus lane project and Sepulveda Corridor rail project, and construction for projects that include the D Line extension to the Westside.
But future funding remains uncertain amid questions over how tariffs and inflation will affect the economy, as well as state and federal investments.
'As we look ahead to major events like the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics, we know we'll have to make some tough decisions. But we'll always use our core values to guide us,' Metro finance, budget and audit committee chair Tim Sandoval said Thursday.
The budget will be presented to the full Metro board next week.
The agency is facing "a deficit of $2.3 billion through 2030," Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins warned state leaders earlier this year. In a March letter to Senate Pro Tempore Mike McGuire (D-North Coast), Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister), state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and state Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino), Wiggins said that while the transit agency is at 90% of pre-pandemic ridership numbers after a dip and has exceeded 2019 passenger numbers on Sundays, Metro still faces significant financial challenges. She advocated for the state to include a $2-billion request in its budget for transit operations equitably distributed among state agencies.
Gov. Gavin Newsom's budget revision on Wednesday did not include the request, ignoring transit and safe streets activists who have warned that the absence of those funds could cause service cuts for a number of public transit agencies throughout the state, including Metrolink.
'Public transportation is vital for jobs, for the health of our economy, and our goal is to ensure that everybody is able to get to where they need to go — from work to school to play — and we believe that the state has to play a role in ensuring that,' said Eli Lipmen of Move LA. 'The operations and maintenance of our system are also critical because the No. 1 issue for transit riders is reliability.'
Lipmen's organization was one of several that hung banners from freeway overpasses throughout the state this week calling on Newsom to 'fund transit.'
The state recently sued the Trump administration over its policy to deny billions of dollars in transportation grants if California didn't follow the federal government's plan for immigration enforcement. Lipmen supported the action but said the suit would affect only capital programs and that the state still needs to increase funds for transit operations.
The state budget proposal, which is still subject to change, did make a significant revision from January by pulling $17.6 million from the state's highway fund toward Olympics and Paralympics planning. The funding singled out Metro's Games Route Network, which would designate a series of roads for travel by athletes, media, officials, the International Olympics Committee, spectators and workers.
Critical parts of Metro's Olympics plans are yet to be nailed down. The agency has yet to confirm $2 billion in funds to lease nearly 3,000 buses, which are integral to Los Angeles' transit-first goal for the Games. The financial crisis affecting the city of Los Angeles, which has a separate budget from Metro, could also jeopardize plans ahead of 2028 as several transit and infrastructure agencies face cutbacks and layoffs.
The top leader for the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, for example, warned that cuts would affect support for major rail and bus lane projects ahead of the 2028 Olympics, in addition to parking enforcement, traffic signal updates and goals to improve traffic safety. Streets LA and the Bureau for Engineering — departments responsible for street and bridge repairs — are also facing significant cuts.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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