Long Beach Weighs 7-Stop Coastal Ferry Before 2028 Olympics

Southern California commuters accustomed to crawling along the Pacific Coast Highway could soon trade the freeway grind for a boat ride, as Long Beach advances plans for a high-speed coastal ferry network linking seven beach destinations ahead of the 2028 Olympics, according to the New York Post.

The proposed service, called Pier-to-Pier, would offer an alternative to what the Post describes as the region's "notoriously clogged freeways," connecting commuters and visitors along the coast by water instead of by car.

What stops would the Pier-to-Pier ferry network include

The route as proposed would connect seven coastal destinations: Long Beach, San Pedro, Redondo Beach Harbor, Venice Pier, Marina del Rey, Santa Monica Pier and Malibu Pier, the Post reported, citing a map published by the project. Rainbow Harbor is expected to serve as the network's initial Long Beach docking point, with Belmont Pier and Alamitos Bay under consideration as additional stops, according to the outlet.

Who would operate the ferry service

Long Beach officials announced this week that the project has secured an operational partner in Harbor Breeze, a Long Beach-based maritime operator, the Post reported. "Pier-to-Pier has established an operational partnership with Harbor Breeze, a seasoned Long Beach based California-licensed maritime operator, to support the launch and long-term reliability of its high-speed coastal ferry network," the city wrote in a memo cited by the Post.

The partnership also draws on Harbor Breeze's existing presence as a commercial tenant in San Pedro and downtown Long Beach at Rainbow Harbor, the city said in the memo, according to the Post.

How much is Long Beach spending on ferry infrastructure

The city has already approved an $8.9 million budget to support two projects aimed at building and upgrading Belmont Pier, the Post reported. By the figures reported so far:

• Seven coastal destinations are named in the proposed route, from Long Beach to Malibu, per the Post.
• $8.9 million has been approved by the city for Belmont Pier construction and upgrades, the Post reported.

No additional cost figures for the broader ferry network, including vessel acquisition or operating subsidies, appear in the city memo as described by the Post.

What transit connections would the ferry offer

Once operational, the ferry network would link passengers to other transportation options, including "LA Metro (E and A Lines), Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus, LAX shuttle networks, and local coastal shuttles," according to the city memo cited by the Post. That connectivity is intended to let riders continue inland after disembarking at any of the seven piers, rather than relying solely on the boat for a single point-to-point trip.

When could the ferry launch before the 2028 Olympics

The Post's report does not specify a target launch date for passenger service, and the city memo reviewed by the outlet focuses on the operational partnership with Harbor Breeze and the Belmont Pier funding rather than a construction timeline. The project is being pursued with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics as a backdrop, the Post reported, though no completion date tied to the Games appears in the materials cited.

The Thursday memo follows earlier City Council action, the Post reported, though the outlet's report does not detail the specific vote or approval language beyond the budget allocation for Belmont Pier. Long Beach has not released a public timeline for when the first Pier-to-Pier routes would begin carrying passengers, based on the information in the Post's story.

For now, the plan remains in a partnership and funding stage: an operator has been named, pier upgrades have a budget, and seven stops have been mapped, according to the Post. What is not yet public, per the available reporting, is a date when Southern Californians could actually board.

What alternative would the ferry offer to coastal traffic

The pitch behind Pier-to-Pier centers on giving Southern Californians a way to avoid what the Post calls the "bumper-to-bumper freeway grind" that defines much of the Pacific Coast Highway corridor. The proposed route would span the geography from the South Bay through Santa Monica and into Malibu, covering beach communities that currently rely almost entirely on surface streets and the coastal highway for north-south travel, according to the Post's reporting on the project map.

The outlet frames the ferry as a parallel option to driving rather than a replacement for existing transit, noting the planned links to Metro's E and A Lines and the Big Blue Bus. How heavily commuters versus tourists would use the service, and at what frequency boats would run, are not addressed in the city memo cited by the Post.