City to Promote Use of Metrolink

The city of Oxnard is beginning a full-scale, public relations effort to entice commuters to use the new Metrolink service to Los Angeles.

The City Council on Tuesday approved plans to sell commuter train tickets at City Hall and authorized the mayor to send letters to various community leaders to urge their support in increasing ridership.

The commuter train service, which began April 4 as a response to the Jan. 17 Northridge earthquake, must attract 100 riders per day to remain economically feasible, said Samia Maximous, Oxnard traffic and transportation manager.

“If we don’t have the 100, it could be closed even before the end of the (six-month) emergency period,” she said.

A Metrolink spokeswoman Tuesday said the Oxnard ridership has averaged just 54 people a day.

Mayor Manuel M. Lopez said the train service is a valuable addition to transit alternatives in Oxnard.

“Any time you can enhance your public transit, you’re helping the smog and a lot of other things,” Lopez said. Installing the ticket vending machines at City Hall “is designed to make it easier for people to utilize Metrolink,” he said.

Metrolink may buy back the $70,000 vending machines if the service is canceled, Maximous said.

Round-trip tickets to Los Angeles cost $14, but monthly passes are available for $208, Metrolink officials said.

Two trains leave for Los Angeles each morning and return each afternoon.