Los Angeles wants to go car-free for the Olympics

The Mayor wants businesses to focus on remote work and shifting work schedules wherever possible.

According to media reports, the 2028 Olympics, which will be held in the city of Los Angeles, California, USA, will, as per the city's mayor be a "no-car Games".

Karen Bass, Mayor of Los Angeles, announced that the Olympic Games to be held in the city will be car-free, making use of public transport to get around. The announcement was made during a particular segment of the Olympics closing ceremony, where the current host "passes the torch" to the next host.

This comes as a surprise as LA has primarily been a car city and is even built with that in mind. Having said that, LA does have plans to improve its public transport facilities ahead of the 2028 Games. The City does have public transit, in the form of buses and a metro light rail system. However, the coverage across the city is reasonable at best but not nearly as connected as a city like Paris. Having said that, it is just a matter of filling in the gaps and convincing people to use the system.

Reports mention that the updates to the public transit systems are already in progress, with some projects having already been completed. The city of LA was awarded the Games in 2017, hence then-mayor Eric Garcetti had released a draft with plans to finish 28 different transit projects by 2028.

Mayor Bass is also encouraging businesses to work with the locals to help reduce car traffic in the city during the Games. The Mayor wants businesses to focus on remote work and shifting work schedules wherever possible. The city is reportedly borrowing 3,000 buses from all over the country to shuttle people between venues.

LA hopes to ban all car traffic at the Olympic venues, encouraging spectators to use public transport.

Source: Electrek