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Visionary Seed Fund
Have an idea or solution that can improve the rider experience at transit stops and stations? If so, apply for LA Metro’s Visionary Seed Fund (VSF) to test your approach.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority announces $1.9 million is available through its Visionary Seed Fund Program. The FY27 award cycle will fund innovative mobility pilot projects that focus on improving the daily rider experience through bus and rail transit stop and station improvements. Applicants should submit projects that can be piloted before and/or during the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games and leave a lasting impact for riders. Metro, municipal operators and local operators are all eligible to apply for funds.
What is the Visionary Seed Fund?
Measure M allocates $20 million over 40 years for the Visionary Seed Fund, a competitive grant program to support projects that “help spark and develop innovative mobility concepts in Los Angeles County.”
Grant Focus
The FY27 award cycle will fund innovative mobility pilot projects that focus on improving the daily rider experience through bus and rail transit stop and station improvements, including but not limited to: seating, lighting, cleanliness, heat mitigation, activation, rider information, placemaking, and accessibility.
Applicants should submit projects that can be piloted before and/or during the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games and leave a lasting impact for riders.
How to Apply
- Review the official Grant Opportunity Announcement, which describes the application requirements, criteria and links to important documents.
- Access the FY27 Visionary Seed Fund Application.
- Submit a completed application by Monday, October 12, 2026, at 11:59 pm Pacific Time.
- To access all documents related to VSF, please scroll down to the Additional Documents section.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligible applicants include:
- Municipal transit operators
- Local transit operators
- Metro
Applicants are required to identify one or more research partner(s) to evaluate how proposed projects address the challenges put forth in the Grant Opportunity Announcement. Transit operators must serve as the lead applicant but may partner with other entities such as for-profit companies, nonprofit organizations, other government agencies and academic institutions.
Metro has established a list of pre-qualified research partners, and applicants may elect to partner with one of Metro’s designated research partners by specifying this in the application.
Where can I learn more about the Visionary Seed Fund?
If you’d like to learn more about this funding opportunity, we will be hosting a webinar scheduled for August 27, 2026, at 3pm Pacific Time. To register for the webinar, click here.
See below for additional documents or e-mail vsf@metro.net with any questions. For continued updates on VSF, sign up for the mailing list here.
Additional Documents
Past Visionary Seed Fund Projects
In 2023, Metro launched Round One of the Visionary Seed Fund and awarded pilot projects that proposed strategies to increase ridership to pre-COVID levels and beyond. Learn more about those projects below:
- Torrance Transit (microtransit pilot)
- City of West Covina (microtransit pilot)
- Metro (station area activations):
- Leimert Park Station
- Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Station
