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MTA Expands Program to Boost Ride Sharing

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The Metropolitan Transportation Authority kicked off the expansion of its Club Metro ride-sharing program to employers in Santa Clarita, San Fernando, the Antelope Valley and the west San Gabriel Valley.

The voluntary program, which also expands to Beverly Hills, Hollywood and West Hollywood, could cut air pollution by as much as 80 tons, the MTA projects.

“One of the things we have to be aware of is how we’re going to have mobility and breathe clean air,” said Councilman Hal Bernson of the 12th District.

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The program is paid for by a $1-million grant from the Air Quality Management District, said Cosette Stark, manager of the ride-share program.

Club Metro is expected to attract 2,000 participants and cut 450,000 vehicle trips and 6.5 million vehicle miles over two years, MTA officials said.

Such reductions are becoming increasingly important as the city’s population grows, said Bernson, who attended the kickoff at the Metrolink station in Chatsworth. His comments were occasionally drowned out by train bells, whistles and roaring engines,

“About 5 million new residents will be in the L.A. Basin by 2010,” he said. “Imagine another 5,000 automobiles on our streets, highways, freeways.”

As an incentive to join up, MTA is offering 20% discounts at 246 Los Angeles restaurants and entertainment venues.

Club Metro is a companion program to Rideshare 2000, an MTA project that offers $2 a day in gift certificates to commuters who use alternate forms of transportation.

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Ride-share programs have broad appeal to commuters, said Beatrice LaPisto-Kirtley, an AQMD board member from Bradbury, Calif.

“Studies show 85% of commuters that switched to alternative modes of transportation have continued to do so a year later,” she said. LaPisto-Kirtley presented Nils Publishing Corp. of Chatsworth with an honorary gift certificate from Rideshare 2000 for the company’s recent decision to participate.

Nils and two other Chatsworth companies, MBK Enterprises and New Hampshire Ball Bearings Inc., received state recognition for their promotion of ride sharing.

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