Los Angeles Mayor-elect Nithya Raman, an outspoken advocate for expanding bus lanes and protected bike routes, is poised to make public transit the centerpiece of her administration, LA Times reported.
Raman Seizes the Helm of a Transit Agency in Turmoil
Upon taking office, Raman will inherit direct control over Los Angeles' transportation system. She will assume the chair of Metro’s board of directors, a role previously held by Bass, and will have the power to appoint three new members to the influential board. This gives her significant power to reshape a regional agency that oversees the county's light-rail and subway systems. She will also oversee the city’s transportation department and appoint new members to the Airport Commission, granting her authority over critical aviation projects.
Raman’s ascension comes at a moment when Metro is in a race against time. The agency needs hundreds of millions of dollars to fund a sprawling bus network designed to serve the millions of visitors expected for the 2028 Summer Olympics. In a statement to The Times ahead of the election, Raman signaled her intent to push the city’s congressional delegation to make this funding a top priority. She also vowed to reinstate a project team in the mayor’s office to cut through bureaucratic red tape and eliminate city delays on major capital projects.
A New Direction for LAX and the Skylink People Mover
One of Raman’s most vocal criticisms during the campaign was directed at the handling of the $3.3-billion Skylink people mover at LAX. The 2.25-mile automated train, intended to whisk passengers between terminals and ground transportation, is years behind schedule and more than $1 billion over budget. Raman blamed the Bass administration and the Los Angeles World Airports board for failing to manage the project effectively.
Her first act as mayor, she vowed, would be to convene officials from the airport, the Department of Water and Power, and the contractor to break the logjam. “Taxpayers deserve an advocate at the negotiating table, not another bill for someone else’s failure,” Raman said at a news conference near the airport last week. Transportation analysts believe her MIT background in urban planning will lead to a more aggressive and technically informed approach than her predecessor, whose background was in healthcare and community organizing.
From Bike Lanes to Billions: Raman’s Ambitious Transit Agenda
Raman’s priorities extend far beyond the airport. She has championed a suite of projects aimed at reducing Los Angeles’s car dependency, a core theme of her campaign. Her platform includes the Sepulveda Transit Corridor, which will connect the Westside to the San Fernando Valley, and the East San Fernando Transit Corridor to extend service from East L.A. to Whittier. She also supports expansions of the K and D Lines and a new light rail connection in southeast L.A. County.
Her commitment to multimodal transportation is already taking shape. The Vermont Transit Corridor project, which broke ground recently to add dedicated bike lanes, is a key part of this vision. While the project faces a lawsuit over its compliance with Measure HLA, a voter-approved initiative for safe streets, Raman has stated she supports both the measure and the use of shared bike and bus lanes on narrower stretches of the route. She also backed the 710 North Mobility Improvement Program and plans for priority bike lanes on Sunset Boulevard.
“I do think we’ll see a considerable amount of action on transit and multimodal transportation in the short run on a timeline that puts this work in the context of preparation for the summer of 2028,” said Juan Matute, deputy director of UCLA’s Institute of Transportation Studies.
The Push for Accountability and a Shifting Political Environment
Raman’s election, coupled with a voter-approved charter amendment that allows the City Council to disband the Public Works Board, is expected to fundamentally alter how infrastructure decisions are made. The change, analysts believe, will streamline projects that have been historically bogged down by bureaucratic oversight. Michael Schneider of Streets for All, an advocacy nonprofit, anticipates Raman will consolidate departments, like merging the Street Services repaving division with the transportation department, and push for a new bond or tax hike to fund sidewalk repairs and street improvements.
“I think it’s the first election where safe streets has become a campaign issue, and real money has gone behind it to try to change the status quo,” Schneider said. His group’s political action committee, backed by hedge fund manager Aaron Sosnick, actively campaigned for Raman, funding ads that criticized Bass’s record on street safety.
The Unanswered Question: Balancing Ambition with Community Concerns
Despite the clear mandate for change, a significant challenge remains: how Raman will handle community pushback. The LA Times noted that it is “unclear how she will balance the push toward these types of endeavors when faced with community pushback.” This was a central issue in her district, where a heated debate over a bike lane project near Forest Lawn Drive led to state intervention to set new rules for such projects.
In Eagle Rock, residents like Nadine Levyfield have been advocating for more transparency from Metro over a bus lane project on Colorado Boulevard. The agency recently agreed to more community meetings to address concerns about traffic and parking in the business district. Levyfield, however, sees an opportunity with the new mayor.
“Running on a platform of accountability, transparency, improving efficiency, and making sure government agencies are accountable, we really hope she can help us ensure that Metro is prioritizing public safety,” Levyfield said.
“Angelenos look around and see faded crosswalks, busted pavement and darkened streetlights and wonder why the City can’t even take care of our basic transportation infrastructure,” she stated. Her goal is to make transit “safe, affordable, fast, and reliable,” a stark contrast to the current reality that forces many to rely on cars. The question now is whether her administration can deliver on that promise without alienating the communities that call Los Angeles home.
