Metrolink Shuttle Routes Lose Funding

A shuttle service that transports commuters from the San Fernando/Sylmar Metrolink station to points across the San Fernando Valley will end July 17 when federal funding runs out, Metropolitan Transit Authority officials said Thursday.

The service was funded with about $1 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the aftermath of the Northridge earthquake to ease the commute from the Santa Clarita Valley to the San Fernando Valley after the Golden State Freeway was damaged.

Some of the Valley employees who use the San Fernando/Sylmar stop say they are angry that the critical link in their commute is threatened. Through a letter and fax campaign, they are calling on the MTA to locate other funds.

“I was outraged when I heard,” said Marian Sofferin, who lives in Canyon Country and commutes to Warner Center using Metrolink. “It doesn’t make sense. They are going to force all of those people back in their automobiles.”

But Cynthia Pansing of the MTA said the agency is very concerned about the loss of shuttle service and has already exhausted nearly every funding source.

“We are doing everything we can to look for funds,” Pansing said. “It’s just a very difficult economic time.”

About 300 Metrolink riders a day use the shuttle service, according to Aaron Hanson, executive director of the 12th Council District Transportation Management Assn. Three shuttle companies take riders from the northeast stop to their workplaces in the northwest, southwest and central Valley in the morning and back again in the afternoon.

“Having no door-to-door shuttle is going to make train riding very inconvenient,” Hanson said. “If you take away the connection, they are not going to ride the train.”

Funding for shuttle service to Pasadena from the Glendale Metrolink station is also expected to run out by July 17.