Moving Millions: What We Learned from Long Beach Transit and Airport

On April 3, 2026, members of USC’s Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) took part in an in-depth technical field tour of Long Beach’s transit and aviation hubs. The visits gave students a closer look at operations at Long Beach Transit (LBT) and Long Beach Airport (LGB), highlighting how both agencies are advancing sustainability efforts and preparing for major events such as the 2028 Olympics and the FIFA World Cup. Led by a team of industry experts and USC alumni, the tours emphasized that successful transportation planning is grounded in the discipline of daily maintenance and the careful integration of environmental values.

Fleet Maintenance at Long Beach Transit

The morning session at the LBT1 Maintenance Facility highlighted Long Beach Transit's unique governance and operational agility. As a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, LBT operates as an autonomous owner-operator, managing its entire fleet of 283 buses and over 800 employees in-house. This model is critical for an agency facilitating 18.5 million annual boardings across 14 cities. We toured the 10-bay shop, where every bus undergoes a preventive maintenance inspection every 6,000 miles. The scale of the operation is reflected in its inventory management system, which maintains approximately 5,000 unique stock parts onsite to support a diverse fleet of CNG, hybrid, and battery-electric vehicles. We observed the evolution of their battery-electric bus (BEB) technology, transitioning from first-generation  BYD buses with a 120-mile range to the newest fourth-generation  New Flyer models capable of over 225 miles. Supporting this shift requires significant infrastructure upgrades, including a planned 10MW substation and high-capacity 180kW chargers that use intelligent power splitting to optimize energy loads.

The Experience at "America's Coolest Airport"

The second half of our tour at Long Beach Airport (LGB) offered a masterclass in boutique aviation management and environmental stewardship. We were briefed on LGB’s "landlord port" model, in which the airport manages 52 strictly regulated flight slots while leasing terminal space to carriers such as Southwest and Delta. We gained a firsthand look at why LGB is officially trademarked as "America's Coolest Airport."  Its atmosphere features an open-air concourse with drought-tolerant landscaping and an outdoor gathering area. The airport’s indoor-outdoor design, paired with its historic 1941 Art Deco terminal, creates a relaxed environment that sets it apart from larger hubs. The streamlined layout and centralized ticketing allow passengers to get from curb to gate in as little as eight minutes, highlighting the impact of thoughtful, passenger-focused design.

Environmental Sustainability

Beyond the passenger experience, the technical briefings focused on the airport's leadership in sustainability. We were briefed on the requirements of Senate Bill (SB) 1383, which mandates diverting organic waste from the waste stream. By capturing food waste from its onsite restaurants and routing it to composting facilities, the airport effectively mitigates methane emissions that would otherwise escape from traditional landfills. On the tarmac, we observed the airport's progress in electrifying ground service equipment. Currently, 60–70% of ground-handling vehicles are electric, putting the facility well ahead of its regional air quality management targets. This electrification was made possible by early infrastructure planning during a 2014 modernization project, which integrated charging capacity directly into the airfield layout to encourage airlines to adopt cleaner equipment.

We thank the leadership and staff at both Long Beach Transit and Long Beach Airport for their generous support and for sharing their technical expertise with our chapter. For USC ITE members, the visit reinforced that transportation is a field that requires constant adaptation. From managing power requirements at a transit substation to balancing airport noise ordinances, the visit showed that safe, reliable, and efficient mobility options require both technical expertise and an understanding of the communities they serve.