Transit Coalition: Metrolink should raise fares, not cut trains

Quick post. Lots of feedback from around the web on the Metrolink service cuts proposed. The Transit Coalition, a transit advocacy group, recommends that Metrolink avoid cuts as much as possible. They've posted this action alert on the Transit Coalition forums:

Action Alert: Write your concerns about possible Metrolink fare increases or service cuts tometrolinkfares@scrra.net. You can also fax them to the attention of Metrolink Fares at (213) 452-0452. All comments must be submitted and received no later than the time of the public hearing scheduled for Friday, December 11, 10 a.m. A sample letter from The Transit Coalition is now available.

With less than 72 hours until the Metrolink Board of Directors votes on whether to raise fares or cut train runs, the debate over which outcome is less painful is ramping up. Those who support service cuts say they are fed up with fare hikes. Those who support a fare increase, such as The Transit Coalition, say that service cuts will rip apart the possible trip combinations riders can make, making the service less useful. Neither option is ideal, especially in a recession, but after years of neglecting transit that is the situation we find ourselves in.

Please help us preserve service by voicing your concerns to Metrolink!

I personally agree with the Transit Coalition's position since Metrolink's about to cut all weekend service here in Orange County, and that's no bueno. Here's the Transit Coalition's letter:

Metrolink - Southern California Regional Rail Authority Attn: Metrolink Fares 700 S. Flower St. #2600 Los Angeles, CA 90017-4101

Re: Support Fare Increase vs. Oppose Service Decrease Dear Metrolink Board Members: I want to express our concern on behalf of our members and the riding public on the proposal to eliminate service versus increasing fares that you as a Board Member will vote upon this Friday. As one member of the public recently testified that she would be troubled by a fare increase, the proposed solution works out perfectly. She won't be able to use the inbound train to Los Angeles, as her outbound train is being chopped. So, you'll have one less rider on two segments who will be forced to drive.

Your proposal to cut all weekend service on the Inland Empire-Orange County line leaves Riverside and Corona residents with no alternative to driving on the CA-91 through the Santa Ana River canyon, which as you may know is one of the most congested stretches of freeway in the nation.

Simply put, service removal destroys the useable combination of network pairs. While we don't love price increases, can there be any other choice? Here is our analysis:

Timing

The timing of the fare increase and service cut announcements distorts Metrolink's perception of public opinion. First, Metrolink sent out an announcement proposing to raise fares 3-6%. It's not surprising to hear that many people sent in comments opposing such an increase, especially when the alternative is not fully understood. Weeks later, Metrolink released an announcement proposing to cut service. No doubt Metrolink will receive many more comments opposing this action. It would be far more productive to develop two plans and present them to the public at the same time in the future. That way the public can express their preference for either scenario, the lesser of two evils so to speak, fare hikes or service cuts.

Weekend Service

Metrolink has made great strides in its implementation of weekend service. Just two years ago weekend trains on the Orange County Line were embarrassingly empty, the average Sunday ridership for September 2007 hovering around 395. In September 2008, however, weekend ridership on the Orange County line was 807, a gain of 104%, with almost 500 more Metrolink riders using the Pacific Surfliner via the Rail 2 Rail program. As of September 2009 Sunday ridership dropped only 7% to 750. Clearly there are weekend riders hanging on, waiting for the economy to recover. Cutting weekend trains will erase the gains made thus far and make it harder to rebuild the weekend service in the future.

While Metrolink's Orange County Line service supplements Amtrak Pacific Surfliner service on this corridor, Tustin, Laguna Niguel, Buena Park and Norwalk are not served by Surfliner trains. Riders at these stations will have no viable alternatives for weekend travel on the LOSSAN Corridor. Once you take away the service, it becomes very hard to put it back. We feel that riders will appreciate having the service there, even if it costs a little more.

Fare Increases, Not Service Cuts, Are the Least Painful

A 6% fare increase sounds scarier than it really is. A one-way weekday fare from Fullerton to Union Station, for example, would rise from $7.00 to $7.25. Similarly, the cost of a monthly pass would increase from $175.25 to $185.75, an increase of just over $10.(40 ride segments = .25 cents per ride.) The same commute would cost $120 in gasoline alone in a car that gets 28 MPG at a price of $2.93 per gallon, not to mention maintenance, parking and the frustration of freeway traffic. If gas prices hit $4.50 / gallon again, that same commute would cost $183 in fuel each month. We feel that riders will grumble, but not enough to change their commute habits.

As of 2005 the median household income of a Metrolink rider was $72,232. 84.5% of riders own a car. The majority of riders are not dependent on mass transit and can probably afford to pay a little more, especially when you consider that even in the middle of fall gas prices continue to hover just below $3 per gallon, still 75 cents higher than a year prior. Who knows what will happen to gas prices next summer? Should a recovering economy or instability in the Middle East cause gas prices to hit $4 or $5 per gallon, Southern California commuters will be glad no cuts were made. It is in the public's interest to retain service for this very probable scenario.

Economic recovery is slowly but surely happening. The DOW hit a 14-month high on Tuesday, December 1st. The unemployment rate, which is currently ravaging Metrolink's ridership counts, lags behind recovery according to most economists. Rehiring by recovering companies cannot be far away, which means a future increase in riders taking Metrolink, provided the service is still there.

Last but not least, the Ventura County Line is slated to be decimated by the service cut proposal. The cuts would leave Northridge Station, which services Cal State Northridge and the Northridge Medical Center, with only two morning outbound trains (one of which is operated by Amtrak) and one afternoon inbound train. Downtown Burbank Station, used by many riders who work at Disney, Warner Brothers, NBC and other studios, would lose about 10 trains. Many of the riders on outbound morning trains started their trips on some other line and transferred at Union Station. Cutting this amount of service would have ripple effects throughout the system, making the Metrolink system less usable.

This is why the Transit Coalition recommends increasing fares 3-6% rather than tearing apart the service and sending ridership counts much lower as a result. However, a fare increase is but a band-aid on the real problem, cuts in state transit funding, decreased tax revenue and high unemployment rates. Though the latter two will recover slowly as the economy picks up again, cuts in state funding and the neglect of transit on the federal level continue to plague Southern California’s effort to build a regional mass transit network. Cutting service only hampers that effort more. Riders have proved over the years that they want good transit service and are willing to pay for it.

Sincerely,

Bart Reed Executive Director