Southern California is getting ready for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Is our transit system ready for riders?

Thousands of visitors and millions of local riders will rely on buses and trains to get around our region. But today, paying for transit across county lines and between agencies is still unnecessarily confusing.

A rider should not need to navigate different cards, fare rules, apps, transfer policies, and payment systems just to take a trip that crosses from one transit agency to another.

SCAG has an opportunity to help change that.

As the region’s planning authority, the Southern California Association of Governments can advance a regional fare-integration system through Connect SoCal 2024, one that makes it easier for people to ride wherever they need to go.

We need a system that meets riders where they are:

• A unified regional transit smart card that works across Southern California

• Open-loop payment, so riders can tap a contactless credit or debit card or smartphone when that works best for them

• Accessible options for people without bank accounts, smartphones, or access to credit

• Simple, fair transfers between agencies including Metro, Metrolink, OCTA/OC Bus, Omnitrans, and more

• Fare policies that make regional travel intuitive instead of punishing riders for crossing a county line

Nobody benefits from the status quo. Riders face confusing and unequal rules. Transit agencies miss out on ridership and fare revenue when people cannot easily understand how to pay. And the region loses out when our buses and trains operate as disconnected systems rather than one transportation network.

A regional transit trip should feel like one trip—not a maze of separate tickets and restrictions.