How to Get Around the LA 2028 Olympics (It's Car-Free)
The single most important thing to know about LA 2028: organizers say spectators will not be able to drive to venues. There is no spectator parking in the plan. It is being run as a transit-first, car-free Games, which is a bigger change for Los Angeles than it would be for almost any other host city.
So your trip plan starts with where you stay relative to transit and to the venues you have tickets for, rather than with a rental car. The areas, the lines and the stations are below, and the venue-by-venue detail is on the LA 2028 venue guide. The overview of the Games is on the LA 2028 Olympics guide.
Why car-free, and what it means for you
There is no spectator parking at venues in the plan. What that leaves:
- Metro rail where a line reaches the area, which is six of the ten venue areas.
- A large temporary bus fleet between stations and venues. The figure in circulation is more than 3,000 buses, which we have not confirmed: treat it as the scale of the plan rather than as a count.
- Walking and cycling the last stretch.
- Being dropped off short of the venue. Where the drop-off points will be has not been published, and it is the thing most likely to decide how an arrival by car actually works.
Integrated ticketing is expected on top of that: the plan has been described as bundling transit with your event ticket. Planned rather than confirmed, and which services it covers has not been published.
The Metro lines you will actually use
Each venue area maps onto one or two lines. The useful way to read this table is backwards: find the area you have tickets in, then look for a place to stay on that line, because a transfer in a crowd costs more time than the map suggests.
Two of the rows are not Metro at all, and the difference is the ticket machine you end up at. Anaheim is Metrolink, the regional rail service, and so is the trip south to the surfing venue. Carson is bus connections, with no rail station confirmed.
| Area | Line | Station | Then |
|---|---|---|---|
| Downtown LA | Metro A Line, Metro E Line, Metro B Line, Metro D Line | Pico Station | then a short walk |
| Exposition Park | Metro E Line | Expo Park/USC Station | then a short walk |
| Inglewood | Metro K Line, Inglewood Transit Connector | Downtown Inglewood Station | then the Inglewood Transit Connector, a people mover still under construction |
| Long Beach | Metro A Line | Downtown Long Beach | then a walk along the waterfront |
| South Bay and Carson | Bus connections | Still being confirmed | Still being confirmed |
| San Fernando Valley | Metro G Line (bus rapid transit) | Still being confirmed | then a walk or a local connection |
| Orange County | Metrolink (regional rail) | Anaheim, at ARTIC | then a local connection |
| Pasadena | Metro A Line | Memorial Park | then a shuttle |
| The coast | Metrolink (regional rail), heading south | Still being confirmed | Still being confirmed |
Getting from LAX to the Games
The LAX Automated People Mover is set to connect the airport directly to Metro: 2.25 miles and six stations, linking the terminals to the LAX/Metro Transit Center, where the K Line starts. Check its current status before you travel. As of late 2025, on secondary reporting rather than an announcement we have read ourselves, it had not opened and the target was the second half of 2026.
Until it is running, free shuttle buses connect the terminals to the LAX/Metro Transit Center about every ten minutes. So the trip works either way: you reach the transit center by shuttle or by people mover, and from there the K Line reaches Inglewood, which is the closest venue area to the airport, and the rest of the network reaches the others.
It is the one fact on this page most likely to have changed by the time you read it, in the direction of good news. Treat the shuttle as the floor rather than the plan.
Our full LAX transport guide is being written. Until it is here, the short version is the one above: get to the LAX/Metro Transit Center, by shuttle or by people mover, and take the K Line from there.
Official sources for this section
Where to stay to make transit easy
Two rules pointing the same way: stay near a Metro rail line, and stay in the area you will spend the most time in. A bed two stops from your venue beats a nicer room two transfers away.
On the line map that means Downtown LA, which four lines reach, Long Beach at the southern end of the A Line, or Inglewood and the area near LAX, which is on the K Line and closest to the airport. Nobody official recommends a neighborhood; this is what the map implies.
Our area-by-area guide to where to stay is being written. Until it is here, the venue pages carry a stay area for every venue, so you can work back from the events you have tickets for.
Practical tips
- Get a TAP card or set up mobile fare before you arrive, rather than standing in line at a machine behind several hundred other people.
- Build in far more time than the journey planner says. The trips are not long; the crowds at either end are what takes the time, and a venue empties onto one station platform.
- Check the last train before you go out for the evening. Late service during the Games has not been published, and the last departure on a normal night is earlier than visitors from other transit cities expect.
- Travelling with a wheelchair, small children or luggage, plan the station rather than the line: step-free access, lifts and the walk at the far end vary a lot, and the Games-time arrangements at the busiest stations have not been announced.
Official sources for this section
What is still being decided
Still being finalized by LA28 and Metro:
- Where the car-free zones are.
- The final size of the bus fleet.
- Where the park-and-ride sites will be.
- How integrated ticketing actually works.
Nothing on this page quotes a figure or a station as settled where it is not, and we update it as they confirm.
Official sources for this section
How current this page is
Last updated
Confirmed
- The Games are planned as transit-first and car-free, with no spectator parking at venues.
- The lines in the table are the ones each area is reached by today.
- Anaheim and the coast are reached by Metrolink rather than by Metro. Carson is bus connections.
- Free shuttle buses connect the LAX terminals to the LAX/Metro Transit Center about every ten minutes.
Still being finalized by the organizers
- The LAX people mover. As of late 2025 it had not opened, with the target the second half of 2026. Check its status before you travel.
- Games-time service: the shuttles, the enhancements and the stations each area is served from during the Games.
- The size of the temporary bus fleet. The figure in circulation is more than 3,000 buses and we have not confirmed it.
- Integrated ticketing: whether an event ticket covers the trip, and what it covers.
- Whether the Inglewood Transit Connector, still under construction, is carrying spectators by 2028.
- Car-free zone locations, park-and-ride sites, and late-night service.
What changed
- : Corrected the LAX people mover: it had not opened as of late 2025, and the free terminal shuttles to the LAX/Metro Transit Center are what runs until it does. The first draft had it already connecting the airport to Metro.
- : First published, with the area-to-line table framed as the line you will most likely use rather than a Games-time timetable.
Common questions
Can you drive to LA 2028 venues?
How will people get to the LA 2028 venues?
Is there a train to SoFi Stadium?
How do I get from LAX to the Olympics?
Where should I stay for easy transit at LA 2028?
Will my event ticket include transit?
In this guide
- The LA 2028 Olympics: Everything You Need to KnowDates, every venue and which sport is where, the five new sports, and how to get around a Games with no spectator parking.
- Every LA 2028 Olympic Venue, and How to Get ThereAll confirmed LA 2028 Olympic venues by area, which sport is at each, an interactive map, and the transit and nearby-stay guide for every venue. No parking at the Games, so this is how you plan.
Sources: LA28, LA Metro, LAWA
This is an editorial guide. It explains and links to official sources, and it is not legal, tax or travel advice.