L.A.'s next mayor will face transit challenges. Troubled LAX people mover is Exhibit A

This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

See more from the L.A.Times in Google Search.

Set us as preferred There are myriad public transportation challenges for the next Los Angeles mayor, but perhaps none is more visible than the long-awaited Skylink people mover train at Los Angeles International Airport.The 2.25-mile train, designed to whisk people from airline terminals to ground transportation, is years behind schedule and more than $1 billion over its original construction budget — bogged down by technical issues and a court battle between the contractor and city airport officials.And now it has become one of the more contentious issues in the mayoral race between incumbent Karen Bass and challenger Nithya Raman.Raman says Bass and the the city’s board of airport commissioners, which the mayor appoints, haven’t done enough to keep costs in check and to ensure construction deadlines are met.“Over two years ago, when the project was already a year behind schedule, Mayor Bass’s airport commissioners cut a $550 million check in order to cover project cost overruns and supposedly to secure a start service in January of this year, 2026,” Raman said in a statement to The Times.

“That date came and went and she hasn’t said anything about how she’ll get the project on track.”Bass said that the project and its problems began before she took office and that “we pushed for a settlement so there would be a firm finish line.”“I expect LAWA [Los Angeles World Airports] and the contractor to finish this job and get riders on board,” Bass said in a statement to The Times.The Skylink train is just one of many transit challenges Los Angeles’ next leader will face, as voter-approved street improvements and road safety initiatives lag.But it has become one of the more significant given its location at LAX, the gateway to Los Angeles for millions of international travelers.As the city prepares for...