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≡ METRO GETS CONSULTANT HELP ≡
“We shared that Metro would put its best foot forward, as it welcomes the world to see these major events over the next few years. But, CEO [Stephanie] Wiggins consistently emphasized ‘the elephant is still in the room.’
“We know what that is: it’s money. It’s funding, right.
“I know that our Metro teams are working hard on that issue at both the Federal and the State levels.”
That was the introduction to Wednesday afternoon’s special meeting of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors by Chair Fernando Dutra.
This was mostly an informational meeting, but one significant contract was approved, a unique, not-to-exceed agreement for up to $42,043,610 with a trio of major engineering firms: Jacobs Engineering Group, Mott MacDonald Group and Legacy 2028, a joint venture between STV Inc. and Egis Rail Inc. USA.
The contract is not for a specified scope of work, rather an on-call support team to provide requested services regarding Metro’s roles during the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, such as the Games Enhanced Transit Services program to meet increased demand, the Games Route Network for Games operations, mobility hubs, bus-only lanes, key station improvements and other items.
This contract has been awarded solely to Mott MacDonald in mid-May, but, according to the Metro staff report:
“This item was originally presented to the Ad Hoc 2028 Olympic & Paralympic Games Committee on May 14, 2025 (Item #7). However, prior to the May Board meeting, staff were made aware of discrepancies with the recommendation, and the Item was withdrawn from the May Board agenda. After further review, on July 23, 2025, staff rescinded the Notice of Intent to Award that was issued to all three firms and initiated the re-evaluation of the proposals received.”
The original scoring of the proposals from the three firms – the only ones who bid – showed:
● 86.15: Mott MacDonald
● 84.04: Jacobs Engineering Group
● 76.94: Legacy 2028
The revised examination of the proposals had a different outcome:
● 83.45: Jacobs Engineering Group
● 79.75: Mott MacDonald Group
● 78.40: Legacy 2028
So the spread of the scores in the first review was 9.21 points, but just 5.05 after the second look.
Seleta Reynolds, the Metro Chief Innovation Officer, explained that the choice to engage all three was not based on a balance of expertise, but capacity when capacity will be needed:
“We took this approach really looking at the magnitude of the task that lies before us, all of the things that we have that we’re trying to complete between now and 2028, whether its infrastructure projects or some of those more programmatic elements.
“We wanted to make sure that we had absolutely no constraints on our capacity to deliver. One of the key lessons learned that we took away from the City of Paris was that, as the Games get closer, there is a real workforce constraint because everyone is vying for the same talent.”
In terms of how the contract will work, Reynolds noted:
“Each of the teams – they’re large teams, they have a number of sub-consultants and a very deep bench, all of them – and so it does allow us to potentially match up the skills with the actual talent with the actual task orders that we have lined up, but the way the task orders get awarded is rotational.
“So the first task order that goes out will be to the team that had the highest score, and so on and it just goes 1-2-3, 1-2-3, so that’s it’s really quick and we’re not going back out and asking for more information, but we are rotating through.
“So we have our list of task orders ready to go, that we want to start awarding almost immediately. … But I will just say, to be honest, each of these three teams is extremely strong because of their depth and I don’t have concerns. My concern is speed and urgency. You know, along with some strategy, of course, but for the most part, we’re just ready to go.”
The contract award was passed on a unanimous voice vote.
The other three items on the agenda were informational only, on the Mobility Concept Plan, the implementation effort, and Metro’s fan zone approach.
A question was raised about 2028 Games-period service running beyond even extended operating hours. Reynolds commented:
“I will say that there is another Olympic Games and Paralympic Games that are happening before us, and that’s the Winter Games in Milan and I know, speaking with their transit agency, that they have been requested to run service that goes much later than they normally do, and to activate a full, what’s called a ‘night-owl network’ of buses throughout the city, to be there for 24-hour service.
“Much more extensive than they normally have, and so I can see that that is a request that’s probably going to be coming our way. That request came from the [International Olympic Committee] and so we’re starting to take that into consideration in our planning.”
A list of possible low-cost, long-life improvement projects – such as station improvements – was shared, based on a prior request, with priority shown for 15 programs, from $2 million to $135 million, with 12 requiring funding commitments by December 2025, or they cannot be completed by the time of the Games. Nine other projects have later funding deadlines.
A scoring system for identifying possible fan zones in Los Angeles County (separate from the City of Los Angeles) was explained, with priority for proximity to existing transit stations and Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility of the site. Other considerations include placement in “Equity Focus Communities,” any history of events at the site, heat abatement and shade and whether the location is culturally significant.
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