Metrolink Reports 3% Decline in Ridership

Metrolink commuter trains attracted about 75 fewer riders a day in December than they did during the same month a year ago, county transportation officials said.

The drop amounted to a 3% decline, although almost the same number of people--2,700--rode the weekday passenger trains in December as the month before, Executive Director Ginger Gherardi wrote in a report to the Ventura County Transportation Commission.

The county commission works with Metrolink officials to provide two commuter trains each morning from Oxnard to Los Angeles and two return trains each weekday evening.

Gherardi blamed the decrease from one year ago on the lack of transportation options at the Metrolink station in Chatsworth. Many riders disembark in the San Fernando Valley to go to their job sites.

She and her staff are continuing to work with Los Angeles County transportation officials to launch a shuttle system to serve Chatsworth area commuters, Gherardi said.

Schedules remained stable between November and December, with 98% of inbound trains running on time and 95% of outgoing trains on schedule, Gherardi said.