Los Angeles Mayor Promises No Cars at 2028 Olympics
(Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for City Year LA's Spring Break)

Los Angeles Mayor Promises No Cars at 2028 Olympics

Car culture gets incredibly real. The vintage riders, the speed demons in their race cars, or even the diesel diehards in their trucks. Everyone lives and dies by their beautiful hunks of metal. However, the mayor of Los Angeles encourages everyone to live your beauties at home when the 2028 Olympics comes around.

Recently, the Paris Olympics goes off with a bang. Tom Cruise sends everyone home happy with a huge closing ceremony, gliding off the top of the Stade de France. Additionally, he ushers in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Consequently, the mayor of the City of Angels addresses some of the big plans they have in place for the big event. One of which might leave some devout drivers in a fit.

Los Angeles Mayor Prepares to Go Green As Olympics Comes to Town in 2028

Mayor Karen Bass details her plans to leave the cars at home and emphasize public transportation instead. "We're already working to create jobs by expanding our public transportation system in order for us to have a no-car Games," she says. "And that's a feat for Los Angeles, as we've always been in love with our cars. We're working to ensure that we can build a greener Los Angeles."

Moreover, she adds that you won't be able to access the Olympic venues if you aren't taking one of the thousands of buses they're importing for the event. However, she does note that this is a proven recipe for success if the 1984 Olympics is anything to consider. "Angelinos were terrified that we were going to have terrible, terrible traffic, and we were shocked that we didn't," the mayor stresses. "But I will tell you, in 1984, we didn't have any of the technology that we do today. We learned in Covid that you can work remotely."

With the rise of remote work, the mayor and her team still grapple with how they'll navigate businesses preferring work in-person. It's the one hurdle that threatens the beautiful potential of an easygoing traffic scene come 2028. However, she remains optimistic, given the track record. I do think that there might be some employers that we could say, 'Could you be remote for 17 days?' It's going to be a lot easier because we did go through COVID," Bass says. "So people will have some reference point in recent history as to how you could do that."