Daily Red Line Use Nearly Doubles

Daily ridership on the Metro Red Line subway has nearly doubled since expanding to the San Fernando Valley last week, according to Metropolitan Transportation Authority statistics.

The system averaged 120,516 riders per day as of Friday, up from an average of 65,150 in May.

These numbers came a week after the lure of free rides drew half a million people to the gala opening weekend of new stations at Hollywood/Highland, Universal City and North Hollywood. The count was made by MTA schedule checkers who observe daily passenger boardings at the 16 subway stations and record them in hand-held computers.

The combined number of daily departures from the North Hollywood and Universal City stations alone averaged 14,322, according to MTA spokesman Gary Wosk. The increase in ridership was a pleasant surprise, he said.

“We are ecstatic,” Wosk said. “We had projected the ridership to be 100,000 daily boarding passengers, but not this soon. We had expected it to take months.”

The three new stations marked the last leg of the $4.7-billion rail project and brought the system’s length from 11.1 miles to 17.4 miles.

Many factors have contributed to the number of people riding the subway system, Wosk said, including rising gas costs, increased traffic and the success of the opening weekend. The subway offers an attractive alternative to commutes spent mired in traffic, and the free preview persuaded many visitors to become regular riders, Wosk said.

“There’s a demand for this service, especially from people who live in the San Fernando Valley and need to reach their jobs in Los Angeles,” Wosk said. “People are tired of finding themselves sitting on the Hollywood Freeway.”

The Metro Red Line subway travels at 70 mph, with each car seating about 60 people, Wosk said. Passengers can travel from the North Hollywood station to downtown Los Angeles in about 20 minutes. A one-way trip on the Metro Red Line is $1.35.

Individual rides are made cheaper by the purchase of weekly, biweekly and monthly passes. Tickets are discounted for seniors and children.