Faced with falling ridership, deepening budget woes and increased expenses for safety reforms, officials at Southern California's commuter rail service are considering raising fares for the second time in less than six months.
The five-county Metrolink agency board is scheduled to decide whether to hike ticket prices for tens of thousands of daily passengers by as much as 6% at a meeting Friday.
The potential January increase, on the heels of a 3% increase that took effect Aug. 1, is needed to help make up a revenue shortfall of several million dollars in the current year's budget.
Some worry that boosting fares again -- a one-way ticket from Riverside to downtown Los Angeles could top $11 -- will only exacerbate a recession-driven tumble in ridership.
"My feeling is it's a bad idea to raise them," said Metrolink Chairman Keith Millhouse. "I'd rather be cutting service, perhaps midday trains that are not as well-utilized. With the economy the way it is, I don't want us to lose" more riders.
But other board members say the latest increase may be necessary to get out of a fiscal hole this year. "It's a hard time to do it. We understand it's difficult," said board Vice Chairman Richard Katz, who added that the agency already has scrutinized its spending.
Revenue is down about $6 million from last year largely because of a 15% drop in boardings. Reduced freight traffic along Metrolink lines due to the recession also has cut income. And costs have grown about $1.8 million so far this fiscal year, officials say.
The five counties that created and help fund Metrolink service are struggling with their own budget problems. "They've told us the well is dry," said board member Art Brown, a representative from Orange County.
Moreover, an aggressive series of safety and operational changes in the wake of last year's deadly Chatsworth crash are boosting costs.
A newly negotiated deal to replace the private contractor that provides Metrolink train crews is expected to add millions to expenses starting in July, a Times review found. A tentative agreement with the new contractor, Amtrak, will cost about $30 million next fiscal year, or $3.5 million more than if the current contractor, Connex Railroad, had remained, according to the Metrolink estimates.
The agency's relationship with Connex soured after the head-on collision with a freight train in Chatsworth, which killed 25 and injured 135. Investigators said the wreck occurred seconds after an engineer on a Metrolink train was text messaging on his cellphone.
