LA Metro SetGo Playbook Helps Agencies Plan for Mega Events

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) has released its Special Event Transportation – Guidance and Opportunities (SetGo) Playbook: a comprehensive resource for managing public transit service for special and ‘Mega’ events, such as the 2026 World Cup, 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and 2034 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.

Designed for public transit agencies of all sizes, the playbook includes guidelines, strategies, and best practices. It emphasizes the importance of collaboration, proactive planning, and real-time communication and how to coordinate across multiple departments—from operations and customer service to security and community outreach—to ensure unified and effective service.

Moreover, it highlights the crucial need for flexibility and adaptability, so agencies can adjust to the unique demands of each event while maintaining a seamless transit experience. And it emphasizes the importance of opportunities to provide ‘surprise and delight,’ to make the transit journey a key part of the overall special event experience.

The playbook draws on lessons learned from agencies from across the U.S. and expertise from APTA (in particular, David Carol, chief operating officer; and Polly Hanson, senior director, security, risk & emergency management) to help answer:

• Which event planning and management techniques from the past still apply to today’s event circumstances? What changes in the special events landscape since 2002 will necessitate new strategies and approaches?
• How can transit agencies best leverage their systems to facilitate mobility for millions of spectators, workers, athletes, tourists, officials, and other travelers associated with these events?
• How can transit agencies share best practices with their peers across the U.S.?

LA Metro established its SetGo Program in the Fall of 2022, which included a series of workshops at APTA conferences, including, to date, the 2022 TRANSform in Seattle, WA; the 2023 Legislative Conference in Washington DC; 2023 Mobility Conference in Minneapolis, MN; 2023 TRANSform & EXPO in Orlando, FL; 2024 Mobility Conference in Portland, OR; 2024 TRANSform in Anaheim, CA; and 2025 Mobility Conference in Austin, TX.