Trains, buses on a roll - - Gas prices driving SoCal commuters out of their cars

www.whittierdailynews.com By Ben Baeder , Staff Writer

The famed marriage between Southern Californians and their cars is in a rocky spot right now.

As prices for regular gasoline in the area have climbed to an average of $2.16 per gallon, Southern Californians are walking away from their automobiles and crowding onto buses and trains in record numbers, according to officials from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

"We've had an increase of 75,000 riders per day, on average, since early February,' said MTA spokesman Dave Sotero. "Our buses are jampacked.'

Also, ridership on the MTA's buses and light-rail trains has risen to 1.2 million from 1.1 million in less than two months, Sotero added.

Metrolink trains have seen a similar increase in ridership.

Janice England of Cerritos catches the 8:09 a.m. Metrolink train from the Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs station to her job at the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in downtown L.A.

"Last week, I couldn't find a parking spot (at the Santa Fe Springs/Norwalk station),' she said while waiting for her train on Monday. "I got in my car and left.'

England and other commuters won't find parking relief any time soon.

There is no end in sight to the rising price of gasoline, according to the Web site Oil and Gas Investor.com .

Analysts on the site say turmoil in oil-rich Venezuela and the looming war with Iraq will cause gas prices to rise.

According to Jeff Springs of the Southern California Auto Club, gas prices started rising rapidly in January, when the average gas price was about $1.50 per gallon.

Since then, gas prices have steadily increased at a rate of about 6 cents per week, he said.

Spring also said it is impossible to predict how high the prices will go. However, "one thing we are seeing is the price is going up a little more slowly lately,' he said.

Transportation officials say their services offer a cheap, fast alternative to automobile travel.

On Tuesday, the MTA's 720 Metro Rapid bus line from the Montebello/Commerce Metrolink station to downtown Los Angeles which is a 25-minute, $1.35 trip was standing- room only.

The Metro Rapid buses, which send out signals that cause traffic lights to change, are one of the MTA's most popular services.

Shane Rhody, 40, takes the Metro Rapid from his home in Los Angeles to work at the Oroweat baking plant in Montebello.

"I love this bus,' he said. "It definitely hauls butt. These drivers can really move through the traffic.'

Duane Dennis, who lives near Whittwood Mall in Whittier and takes the Metrolink from Santa Fe Springs to his child-care job in Los Angeles, says he has used the train for three years.

The trip is $9, and, since Dennis buys 10 trips at a time, he gets a discount, which ends up costing him $8 per trip. The trip to Union Station in Los Angeles takes about 35 minutes.

Even if gas was cheap, Dennis would still take the train, he said.

"I hate going through all that traffic,' he said while riding the train on Monday as he read a special newspaper section about the upcoming college basketball playoffs. "I do it for peace of mind.'

Pico Rivera Mayor Bea Proo, who sits on the MTA board of directors, said public transportation agencies now face the challenge of keeping their new customers satisfied and coming back for more.

Right now, there are four Metro Rapid lines, but the MTA has plans to add 23 more within the next five years, she said.

She also added that several new Metro Rapid lines will be opened up in Whittier and Pico Rivera soon.

"What our interest is right now is to see how many of these new riders we can retain,' she said. "And we might be seeing a new audience of business people. We have to adjust our service a little while keeping our current riders happy.'

But, as needs increase, funding for public transportation has stalled because politicians are more concerned about funding the potential war with Iraq, Proo said.

She lobbied politicians in Washington, D.C., last week for more federal dollars for area transportation. Proo got a lot of encouragement but not a single promise of transportation money, she said.

In Santa Fe Springs, city officials say they got transportation funds just in time.

The city plans, in cooperation with Norwalk, to spend $1.5 million of federal money to build more parking at the Metrolink station, said Marina Sueiro, the Santa Fe Springs director of intergovernmental relations.

"We will be taking bids in the next few weeks from firms that will make plans for a parking master plan,' she said.

Other agencies are planning on carrying out similar capital-improvement programs, officials said.

In the past, however, ridership gains were lost when gas prices went back down to normal, said Francisco Oaxaca, spokesman for Metrolink.

But with gas prices expected to rise even more, the MTA is gearing up for more riders and just ordered a new round of passenger cars.

"We've never experienced anything like this before,' Oaxaca said of the 10-year-old train company. "We are really in uncharted territory.'

-- Ben Baeder can be reached at (562) 698-0955, Ext. 3024, or by e-mail at ben.baeder@sgvn.com .