Getting a new start┬áA new light rail transit segment, the Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension, links historic areas of Los Angeles, Gary Toushek learns. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), with an operating budget of $3.4 billion per year, serves as transportation planner, coordinator, designer, builder and operator for one of the largest counties in the US, with more than 9.6 million peopleÔÇönearly one-third of CaliforniaÔÇÖs residents.