Meeting_Body
FINANCE, AUDIT AND BUDGET COMMITTEE
NOVEMBER 17, 2021
Subject
SUBJECT: PROGRAM FUNDS FOR METROLINK SERVICE RESTORATION
Action
ACTION: APPROVE RECOMMENDATION
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
APPROVE up to $1,526,932 in additional funding to the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA) FY-2021-22 budget to pay for Metro's share to partially restore Metrolink commuter rail service, effective December 2021.
Issue
ISSUE
Due to a steady increase in Metrolink commuter rail ridership, SCRRA wishes to restore 22 additional weekday trains in December 2021. The SCRRA has proposed a Metrolink service restoration package which will increase service from 108 weekday trains today to 130 weekday trains. The staff recommended action will provide the additional funding needed for Metrolink's service restoration.
Background
BACKGROUND
Prior to COVID, SCRRA ran 175 weekday trains on the Metrolink commuter rail service. On March 26, 2020, SCRRA reduced service by more than 30% and is currently operating 108 trains per weekday. Since then, ridership has gradually increased from 5,000 passengers per weekday in April 2020 to 12,000 passengers per weekday in October 2021. This is a 140% increase in ridership since the COVID pandemic began. However, ridership is still considerably less than the 40,000 per weekday ridership pre-COVID.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
Staff is recommending approval of up to $1,526,932 for Metro's share of the Metrolink's service restoration that will take effect in December 2021. Refer to Attachment A- SCRRA Service Restoration Board Report dated October 15, 2021.
In the Summer of 2021, as Metrolink ridership started to increase, SCRRA began to plan for service restoration. When SCRRA built the service restoration proposal, special consideration was given to the following:
1) Customer comments and closing gaps in service.
2) Restoring slots that had best opportunity to build ridership or provide new service opt...
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