Survey Shows 44% of Solo Motorists Favor Using Train : Metrolink: Regional rail officials cite the findings as evidence that Southern California commuters are willing to change their driving habits if mass transit is provided.

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, a survey released Wednesday indicates.

But the survey also points to a reluctance among some commuters to change daily habits for the sake of using mass transit.

Only one-third of those surveyed 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.”

And 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 Southern California Regional Rail Authority.

A spokesman for Los Angeles City Councilman Hal Bernson, a strong supporter of the line, said the councilman was happy with the survey results. Ali Sar, Bernson’s press aide, said Bernson had heard from many residents in the San Fernando Valley who seemed interested in using the line.

“They are more than willing to utilize the light-rail service from Chatsworth to downtown,” he said.

The survey of 1,200 commuters who live along a five-mile stretch of the rail route was conducted for the rail authority. The respondents, 400 commuters along each of the three rail lines, were questioned by phone in the fall of 1991. The survey, conducted by the Applied Management & Planning Group in Los Angeles, has a margin of error of plus or minus 5%.

The survey was conducted to help the rail authority launch a marketing and promotional campaign for the line.

County transportation officials said there were no such surveys conducted before the Metro Blue Line was built between Long Beach and downtown Los Angeles. The design for that route was based on transportation patterns on roadways along that corridor, officials said.

Commuter rail trains are to begin operating in October along existing 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 rail authority, a five-county transit agency formed under a joint powers agreement.

The first of 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.

The lines are expected to carry a total of about 10,600 one-way passengers daily, with the Ventura County line carrying 3,400, the Santa Clarita line carrying 2,700 and about 4,500 passengers riding the line from San Bernardino each day.

Commuter rail is considered cheaper than subways because the service can run on existing rail lines. Although the exact fares have not been approved, rail authority officials said a commuter who uses the line daily might pay $4.50 to ride from Moorpark to Union Station and $2.50 to ride from Santa Clarita to downtown.

The survey, however, found that 42% of those questioned said a one-way fare of $2 to $3 would be too expensive. Another 29% said a one-way fare of $3 to $5 would be too expensive.

Among other findings:

* 72% of students said they would be very likely to ride Metrolink, contrasted with 25% of white-collar managers. Only 16% of those who described themselves as “top-level executives” said they would be likely to use the line.

* 81% agreed with the statement: “I need more flexibility than mass transit schedules usually allow.”

* 95% agreed with the statement: “Driving alone allows me the freedom to come and go as I please.”

* 65% agreed with the statement: “I think I would be safer in a passenger train than in a car.” Twenty-five percent disagreed and 10% had no opinion.

* 63% agreed with the statement: “Park and Ride lots are an invitation for crime.” Twenty-six percent disagreed and 12% had no opinion.