{"id":91,"date":"2026-06-16T12:08:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T12:08:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?p=91"},"modified":"2026-06-16T12:08:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T12:08:53","slug":"sgv-connect-148-world-cup-6-7-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?p=91","title":{"rendered":"SGV Connect 148: World Cup, 6-7 Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>In this special World Cup edition of SGV Connect, Damien Newton talks with Foothill Transit Communications Director Felicia Friesema about how transit agencies across Los Angeles County are preparing for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?p=90\">Tuesday\u2019s Headlines Say C\u2019est la Vie to Equity<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Friesema explains Foothill Transit\u2019s role in supporting Metro\u2019s operations at SoFi Stadium, including lending buses for shuttle service between Union Station and the stadium. She encourages San Gabriel Valley residents to use the Silver Streak and other transit connections to reach World Cup matches, noting that transit will play a critical role in moving tens of thousands of spectators.<\/p>\n<p>The conversation also explores the behind-the-scenes planning required for a global event, with Friesema describing months of coordination, training, and security preparation involving Metro, Foothill Transit, and other agencies. The discussion then shifts to broader transit topics, including rising gas prices, ridership growth, long-term budgeting challenges, and Foothill Transit\u2019s proposed changes to commuter express service.<\/p>\n<p>Newton and Friesema also discuss recent improvements to the regional fare system, including contactless credit card payments, the impact of the A Line extension into the eastern San Gabriel Valley, and the surprising success of Foothill Transit\u2019s temporary \u201cLine 6-7\u201d shuttle connecting the La Verne A Line station with Fairplex during the Los Angeles County Fair.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout the conversation, Friesema emphasizes the importance of flexibility, regional coordination, and adapting transit service to changing travel patterns across Southern California. <\/p>\n<p>A full transcript of the podcast can be found below.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Streetsblog\u2019s San Gabriel Valley coverage is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the A Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit\u00a0Foothill Transit. \u201cFoothill Transit. Going Good Places.\u201d Sign-up for our SGV Connect Newsletter,\u00a0coming to your inbox on Fridays!<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<iframe allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" loading=\"lazy\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-forms\" src=\"https:\/\/oembed.libsyn.com\/embed?item_id=%2041617080\" style=\"height: 500px; width: 100%;\" title=\"Embedded content\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Damien Newton:<\/strong> As mentioned in the intro, I\u2019m here with Felicia Friesema of Foothill Transit. This is our unofficial, quasi-official World Cup edition of the SGV Connect podcast and Streetsblog coverage.<\/p>\n<p>This podcast is going up on Friday, the day of the first World Cup game in Los Angeles: the United States versus Paraguay.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s been a lot of press about how people are getting to the stadium, the cost of parking, and all of those sorts of issues. But we wanted to highlight that it is easy and possible to take transit to the games, no matter where you\u2019re coming from.<\/p>\n<p>As we\u2019ve mentioned before, I live in West Los Angeles. On Monday, we\u2019re planning to go to a parking lot in Santa Monica and take the bus directly to the game\u2014a game that I still only give about a 50 percent chance of actually happening.<\/p>\n<p>But we\u2019re not talking about Santa Monica today. We\u2019re talking about the San Gabriel Valley.<\/p>\n<p>So again, I\u2019m here with Felicia. Why don\u2019t we talk a little bit about service from the San Gabriel Valley to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood? How is that all going to work? What\u2019s the expectation, and what are we hoping to see?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Felicia Friesema:<\/strong> Well, I think it\u2019s really important that people understand how critical transit is going to be for making these matches work.<\/p>\n<p>When you start seeing Caltrans signs on the freeway encouraging people to take transit to the matches at SoFi, it tells you how important transit is to making the whole experience happen. FIFA has some very strict rules about tailgating\u2014as in, you\u2019re not allowed to do it\u2014so it takes away some of the benefits of driving to the stadium that some people enjoy.<\/p>\n<p>Foothill Transit is lending 10 buses to Metro to help operate the shuttle trips originating from Union Station and heading to SoFi Stadium.<\/p>\n<p>The best way to get from the San Gabriel Valley to Union Station and then take those shuttles is to ride the Silver Streak. It runs very regularly\u2014every 15 minutes during the week and every half hour on weekends. It\u2019s a pretty reliable service. You can visit foothilltransit.org and get all your trips itinerized.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?p=88\">Safety Last: Under Trump, U.S. Roads Continue To Be \u2018Dangerous By Design\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s a word. Did I just make up a word?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Damien Newton:<\/strong> I don\u2019t know. All words are made up.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Felicia Friesema:<\/strong> I\u2019m only the communications director, you know.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Damien Newton:<\/strong> Doesn\u2019t Thor say that in one of the Marvel movies? Someone tells him he made up a word and he responds, \u201cAll words are made up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Felicia Friesema:<\/strong> Right. One thing I do want to note, though: for the shuttles going into SoFi, there won\u2019t be fare collection on the buses themselves.<\/p>\n<p>Spectators can pay in one of two ways. They can purchase parking online in advance, which includes shuttle service, or they can pay on site using mobile fare-payment validators that will be stationed near the shuttle boarding queues.<\/p>\n<p>Passengers will pay before they board the bus. It\u2019s a little different from how we\u2019re normally doing things, but it\u2019s something people should be aware of.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Damien Newton:<\/strong> We\u2019ve seen Metro do this for other major events, and even private shuttle operations. When you\u2019re trying to move 30,000 people by bus for a special event, sometimes there are different procedures for boarding and exiting. It\u2019s good for people to know ahead of time so they can plan accordingly.<\/p>\n<p>Do you know of other Foothill Transit employees who are planning to attend the games? Is this something people have talked about at the staff level? Like, \u201cI\u2019m going to the game and here\u2019s how I\u2019m getting there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Felicia Friesema:<\/strong> Honestly, the biggest thing is that we all have our favorite teams, right? But most of our participation is making sure the service happens without a hitch.<\/p>\n<p>Our role is making sure service is delivered safely and securely, and that coordination with Metro is clear, concise, and effective. It\u2019s more about enabling other people to have a great experience. We\u2019ll mostly be listening from the sidelines while making sure everyone else can get there.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Damien Newton:<\/strong> One thing I\u2019ve always wondered about these major events, where your agency has such an important support role, is whether there\u2019s an extra level of excitement in the planning process\u2014or whether it\u2019s more intense because there are so many additional details to work through.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Felicia Friesema:<\/strong> FIFA\u2014and subsequently the Olympics\u2014are really their own category when it comes to this kind of planning.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve been meeting with Metro weekly for months to work through the logistics of serving the matches. The level of preparation, planning, security awareness, and training for operators, dispatchers, and security staff is well beyond what would normally happen for something like Rose Bowl shuttle service.<\/p>\n<p>We have the Rose Bowl service down to a science. We know exactly how it works. But the World Cup requires a much more detailed operational plan.<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t know that I\u2019d call it anxiety, but it\u2019s definitely more intense.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Damien Newton:<\/strong> That was probably the wrong word.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Felicia Friesema:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Damien Newton:<\/strong> I should have made a word up.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Felicia Friesema:<\/strong> Exactly. It\u2019s more intense. When you have an event as visible and heavily attended as the World Cup, everything operates at a different level.<\/p>\n<p>Not that we don\u2019t pay attention to those things for local events\u2014we absolutely do\u2014but this is bigger in every way. More people, more excitement, more moving parts.<\/p>\n<p>The good thing is that Metro has done a phenomenal job laying the groundwork for all of us to succeed. We\u2019re really grateful for that.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?p=86\">The Bus Bench Revolution Wants You to Enlist \u2014\u00a0Here\u2019s How<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this special World Cup edition of SGV Connect, Damien Newton talks with Foothill Transit Communications Director Felicia Friesema about how transit agencies across Los Angeles County are preparing for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Read more Tuesday\u2019s Headlines Say C\u2019est la Vie to Equity Friesema explains Foothill Transit\u2019s role in supporting Metro\u2019s operations at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-safety"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>SGV Connect 148: World Cup, 6-7 Edition - Urban Atlas Media<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/urbanatlasmedia.com\/?p=91\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SGV Connect 148: World Cup, 6-7 Edition - Urban Atlas Media\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In this special World Cup edition of SGV Connect, Damien Newton talks with Foothill Transit Communications Director Felicia Friesema about how transit agencies across Los Angeles County are preparing for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. 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