Metrolink Survey Finds Mixed Results

About 44% of commuters who drive alone and live near the routes of a commuter rail line that will connect Ventura, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties would be likely to use the line, according to a survey released Wednesday.

But the survey also points to a reluctance among some commuters to change daily habits to use mass transit.

Only one-third of those surveyed and who now drive alone to work every day said they would be willing or somewhat willing to alter their schedules to ride Metrolink, scheduled to open in October. Forty-four percent of the solo commuters agreed with the statement: “I would rather have privacy and be by myself during my commute than to ride with others.”

Of those who said they would be very likely to use the commuter line, only half said they would ride it five days a week.

Despite the mixed results, regional rail officials said they viewed the survey as evidence that Southern California drivers are willing to change their driving habits if mass transit is provided.

“That is a positive result because we are building a Metrolink line knowing that not everyone wants to ride Metrolink or can ride Metrolink,” said Steve Hidalgo, a spokesman for the rail authority.

The survey of 1,200 commuters who live along a five-mile stretch of the rail route was conducted for the Southern California Regional Rail Authority. The respondents, 400 commuters along each one of the three rail lines, were questioned by phone in the fall of 1991. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 5%.

Commuter rail trains are to begin operating in October along existing freight tracks under a sweeping 1990 lease and purchase agreement between the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission and Southern Pacific railroad. The trains will be run by the Southern California Regional Rail Authority, a five-county transit agency formed under a joint powers agreement.

The first three lines in operation will include commuter service each weekday from Moorpark to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, with stops in Simi Valley, Glendale, Van Nuys and Chatsworth. A second line will run from Santa Clarita to Union Station, with stops in Sylmar, Burbank and Glendale. The third line will run from San Bernardino to Union Station, with 10 stops along the way.