Transit Officials Undecided About Who Will Patrol Red Line : Subway: Use of the LAPD at a cost of $6 million is preferred over transit police for $2.1 million.

Four weeks before the city’s first subway opens, transit officials have not decided who will patrol the stations and trains--a factor that experts say could influence whether passengers choose to use the Red Line.

Transit officials recommended Wednesday that the Los Angeles Police Department patrol the 4.4 miles of the Red Line for one year, at a cost of up to $6 million--$4 million more that the transit police said it would cost to do the job.

The issue of security has pitted the needs of bus passengers against those of train and subway riders, and heightened tensions between rival agencies: the Southern California Rapid Transit District, which operates buses and railways, and the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, which holds the purse strings.

“Yes, it costs a little bit more to use the LAPD but it’s definitely worth it,” said Neil Peterson, executive director of the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission. “The one thing we are most concerned about is making sure the riding public feels secure.”

Peterson and other LACTC officials estimated that the difference between using the LAPD and using the transit police would actually be about $1 million--not $4 million--and said the RTD’s estimates have been unrealistically low.

Under one proposal, transit officials would spend up to $6 million to hire 56 LAPD officers and three support staff to provide security for the Red Line. Under the second, 39 transit police would patrol the same area for $2.1 million, and would coordinate with the LAPD.

On Wednesday, an LACTC committee voted to approve a one-year interim security contract with the LAPD. The commission will vote next week on the interim measure; if it selects the LAPD, that will bring the selection process to a swift conclusion. The Red Line formally opens Jan. 11.

But the cost of doing business with the LAPD rankled some who attended Wednesday’s meeting.

“I never thought I’d see the day when I’d say security on the Blue Line is a bargain,” said Goldy Norton, a United Transportation Union spokesman, comparing the $11.7 million paid to sheriff’s deputies to police the 22-mile Blue Line to the $6-million proposed for the LAPD to patrol the Red Line.

Bus riders have long complained that they are not receiving the same attention, or the same funding, that is provided to rail and subway passengers. The RTD has estimated that $1.25 is spent on security for each Blue Line train rider, while 3 cents is spent on a bus passenger’s security. But transit officials counter that top-notch security is essential as they try to woo riders to the Red Line.

Transit Police Chief Sharon Papa suggested at Wednesday’s meeting that the transit police work with LAPD in providing security for subway riders. She also noted that her officers are already patrolling the tunnels and trains.

“We’ve been planning to do this since the early ‘80s, when the LAPD and Sheriff’s Department said ‘This is not our headache,’ ” Papa said. “However, now that the money is available, they are interested. I have to question whether they are really interested in transit security or are they interested in transit dollars.”

Earl Clark, chairman of the United Transportation Union, which represents train operators and bus drivers, said he favors transit police working with the LAPD.

Last month, the Los Angeles City Council voted to support the LAPD’s plan to bid for the Red Line security contract after citing the benefits of coordinating security above and below ground. Selection of a police agency for the Red Line was delayed to give LAPD Chief Willie L. Williams more time to develop a plan, Peterson said.

RTD officials complain that the transit agency would cut them out of the security decision if it opts for the interim plan.

RTD board President Marv Holen denounced the actions as a “last-minute quickie, an end-run. . . . And another bash at RTD.”