LA Should Go for the Gold When It Comes to Electric Transit Buses

The Olympics are returning to Los Angeles in 2028, and while the city works to rebuild homes lost in the January wildfires and ready itself for the international spotlight, it’s worth considering what’ll be different in the 44 years since the last time LA hosted the Olympics. In 1984, the LA Olympics were marked by a Cold War Soviet boycott, a modest downtown LA skyline, an obsession with jet packs in the opening ceremony, and smog—so much smog.

Bill Suitor uses a jetpack to hover over the opening ceremony for the 1984 Olympic Games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. (Photo by Steve Powell/Getty Images)

The women’s marathon made its debut in the 1984 Games, and athletes made their way through 26 grueling miles breathing a smoggy soup. While LA has since made great wins cleaning our air, every year the American Lung Association hands our region a failing “F” grade, like a disappointed teacher who knows we’re not giving our best.

Two generations later, we’re still the smog capital of the United States.

An aerial view of LA’s smoggy air quality in 1985. (Photo by Ernst Haas/Ernst Haas/Getty Images)

There’s one key way Los Angeles can show up well on the international stage come 2028: electric transit buses. Consider that all recent Olympic host cities electrified at least half their bus fleets before they hosted the Olympics: Tokyo, Beijing, and Paris. Milan, which will host the 2026 Winter Games next year, is electrifying half their bus fleet. Brisbane is setting an ambitious course for the 2032 Summer Games too. The LA 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games have committed to being “transit-first” games: imagine if the residents and visitors being ferried to and from events are on modern, quiet, clean electric transit buses.

Right now LA Metro has electrified just 3.5% of its bus fleet, so the region has miles to go in making the big shift to modern vehicles. It’s on course to have a mere 12% electrified by the time LA hosts the 2028 Games.

But LA Metro is an agency that can do big things. In the 1990s, the agency was the first major transit agency in the U.S. to retire all of its diesel buses. It’s the second largest transit agency in the country, and it’s made great strides to help shift car-centric Los Angeles back to public transit.

An all electric bus is seen in Los Angeles, January 12, 2021. (Ringo Chiu via AP)

To keep pace with the rest of the world, LA Metro needs to add 1,175 zero-emissions buses to its fleet. It can begin to make headway with a bold procurement and charging infrastructure buildout plan this year.

Los Angeles deserves a legacy after the 2028 Games pass, and we don’t want a stadium: we want a modern transit system. The games should leave a legacy for the city’s residents—and nothing would be better than a breath of fresh air and the quiet hum of a modern electric bus fleet.

When LA hosted the Olympics in 1984, the games marked a pivotal turn and were seen as a boon for the city. The first profitable games in Olympics history, they generated $200 million and heavily relied on existing city infrastructure and facilities. LA made the games work for LA, and we can do it again.

American runner Carl Lewis took center stage at the 1984 LA Olympics (Photo by Pool PERRIN/TARDY/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

Why electric buses? They’re better for our health and our climate. Emissions from combustion buses are not only bad for our planet, they’re bad for our lungs. Tailpipe exhaust from buses rolling through communities contributes to air pollution that causes asthma, bronchitis, cancer, and even early death. Public transit riders are especially at risk with this kind of pollution from dated models.

Buses are the people’s vehicle: not everyone can afford a car, but buses grant everyone mobility. They’re often how kids get to school, workers get to their jobs, and the elderly get to medical appointments. Electric buses are quiet, reducing noise impacts in our neighborhoods and delivering better experiences for riders and drivers. Let’s give the people the best ride possible.

The public health savings from the shift will be significant: Metro projects that in Los Angeles County, a transition to a zero-emission bus fleet will deliver $223 million in public health benefits between 2025 and 2050. Not to mention they’re a boon for the local economy: manufacturing electric buses and installing charging infrastructure creates good jobs for working families in the region.

Young Angelenos who dream of being future athletes need clean air. Los Angeles is an exceptionally strong case for the benefits of cleaning its air: when the region engineered a steep decline in air pollution in the mid-1990s, kids’ lung strength grew by over 10% according to extensive research from the University of Southern California. That improved lung strength follows children through the rest of their lives.

The smoggy opening ceremony for the LA 1984 Olympics (Steve Powell / Getty Images Sport)

The 2028 Games are expected to bring roughly 700,000 additional transit bus riders to the region during the time of year when our air quality is the worst. With less than three years until LA 2028, there’s no time to wait. LA can go for the gold by building its fleet of electric buses. Let’s go!