SAN FERNANDO VALLEY : Metrolink to Offer Free Holiday Ride
The Metrolink commuter train service will offer a free holiday shopping ride next Saturday from Moorpark through the San Fernando Valley to downtown Los Angeles, the Ventura County Transportation Commission was told Friday.
The train will make Valley stops in Chatsworth, Van Nuys, Burbank and Glendale.
Ginger Gherardi, the commission’s executive director, said the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission is picking up the costs of the Saturday train to encourage more people to sample the service.
“We believe that once they try it, they’ll like it and hopefully will come back,” said Metrolink spokesman Peter Hidalgo.
But Simi Valley Councilman Bill Davis, who represents Ventura County on a regional board that oversees Metrolink, said said he was concerned that Los Angeles officials were trying to lure Ventura County residents into spending their holiday shopping dollars outside of their area.
He said Ventura County communities could lose sales tax revenue because of this tactic.
“Los Angeles is paying the cost because they want to get people to go downtown to shop,” Davis said.
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