January Metrolink Ridership Rises

Metrolink ridership was higher in January than in the preceding two months, analysts said this week.

Ventura County Transportation Commission officials reported that the trains attracted about 2,800 riders a day last month, up from about 2,700 people a day in November and December.

Analysts said the increase probably was due to the end of the holiday season.

But while more commuters are riding the weekday commuter trains, the trains themselves are running slower than usual, according to a report to Transportation Commission members.

Executive Director Ginger Gherardi said the inbound trains have been running at a 95% on-time rate, down from 98% last month. Worse, 93% of outbound commuter trains are running on time, down from 95% in December, she said.

Later this month, Transportation Commission staff members will launch a marketing plan in Camarillo designed to attract more commuters to the trains.

Train-shaped advertisements will be hung on front doors of more than 5,000 residences in Camarillo and another 5,000 homes in the Oxnard area, Gherardi told commissioners.