East County Issue: Metrolink

A Metrolink commuter rail connecting Simi Valley and Moorpark to downtown Los Angeles debuted last week. Given Southern Californians’ preference of personal vehiclesover public transportation and early complaints of high prices and inflexible scheduling, is the Metrolink a viable alternative for Ventura County residents?

Dorothy Romeyn

Payroll coordinator in Burbank; resident of Simi Valley I really would prefer to go on the Metrolink if the price was a little bit less. Right now, sometimes I have to stand up from Burbank to Simi Valley and if I’m going to be paying that much money,it’s going to make me that much more unhappy. We’re only using 30 miles of the line and yet we’re paying the full price from Moorpark to Union Station. They’re charging me $176 per month to go from Simi Valley to Burbank, and that’s not right. From Tuesday on, I had to stand up until either Van Nuys or Chatsworth, and if you’re paying that much money, you shouldn’t have to stand up. I’m going to try it for the first month and see if I have a seat. If I don’t, I might not ride it again. I’m hoping that when people have to start paying or when they add another car, then things will get better. Going to work is excellent, but coming home I have to wait a whole hour at Burbank. I need an earlier train.

Bill Davis

Simi Valley city councilman; member, Southern California Regional Rail Authority Yes, I obviously believe that this is a viable alternative to the automobile. If you take into consideration what a person has to pay for parking, maintenance, insurance and wear and tear on an automobile, then Metrolink pricing is not what I would consider high. As ridership increases, we’re going to look at lowering those prices. I would like to see an $8 round trip to L.A. Probably the main advantage of Metrolink over driving would be on-time service. When you get in your automobile and you leave in the morning to drive to downtown Los Angeles, most people leave 1 1/2 or two hours sooner than when they need to be at work because they never know what they’re going to find on the freeway. With the train, you know that if you need to be in L.A. at 6:30 a.m. or 7 a.m., you can get on the train and you know you’re going to be there within a few minutes of that time.

Jinel Parodi

Schoolteacher in Panorama City; resident of Simi Valley I think it is viable if you go to downtown Los Angeles. I want to go to Van Nuys and I don’t think it’s viable at this point. It’s too expensive. I’m not saving on parking (since) I have a staff lot anyway. It’s $144 for a monthly pass to Van Nuys and only $22 more for a monthly pass to Los Angeles and I just don’t think that’s fair. I want to do it, I want to ride Metrolink, because I’m sick of my car. I might buy a 10-ticket pass or something, hoping that the prices will come down. I’m so ready to do this, at least three days a week if not every day, but the price is the only thing that’s holding me back. I really think they either intentionally priced out the intermediate traveler, hoping they’d get more people going downtown, or they just didn’t think people would want to take it to the Valley.

Paul Lawrason

Manager in Chatsworth; mayor of Moorpark Absolutely. For me, personally, the train portion of it is just outstanding. I’m really very, very pleased with the equipment, the personnel, the efficiency and the timing. Passengers who only ride one or two zones have a price situation that makes it difficult to compare (cost) to travel in a personal automobile. If you amortize the cost of your car, it’s probably a little bit more expensive than driving. I’ll give it that for the convenience and the lack of wear and tear on me. I’ll be on it three to four days a week, minimum. It’s definitely viable as far as I’m concerned. You sit back in real comfort, in a well-lighted, air-conditioned rail car. It’s very smooth riding, probably the smoothest train ride I’ve ever had. It’s quick, it’s modern, it gives you the feeling that this is the way to commute. We’ll work the rough edges out of it, I’m sure.

Ginger Gherardi

Executive director, Ventura County Transportation Commission I think the train is viable. We have had exceptionally good ridership during this first week and I guess the true test will be next week, when people start paying for the service. We had 2,400 people on the train Wednesday. The parking lots have been full to overflowing with people trying out the service. If you were to go to downtown Los Angeles, it would cost you somewhere between $120 and $140 each month just to park your car. That’s not including gas, insurance or depreciation on your car. I think there may be some question as to whether or not it’s cost-effective between say, Simi Valley and Chatsworth. But I think if you figure in all the other costs that you’re currently spending, it probably is. After we allow the service to shake out over the next couple months, the board will be looking at the question of fares between those intermediate stations and there may be some adjustments.