East LA Gets the Golden Ticket
Yesterday was the first operational day of the six-mile, $898 million extension
Thursday, Jan 7, 2010 | Updated 2:54 PM PST
Some 75,000 people took a free ride as service began on the new Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension.
It's been a long wait but for may underserved communities in East LA, their train has finally arrived. Some 75,000 people took a free ride as service began on the new Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension.
Yesterday was the first day the six-mile, $898 million extension -- running between Union Station and East Los Angeles -- was in operation. The route has eight new stations, two of them underground.
Ridership numbers from this morning on the new extension were "fairly good but we will probably not have a handle on it for a couple of days," said Metropolitan Transportation Authority representative Rick Jager.
Monday is the first day of regular "revenue service," said Jager.
The cost of a ride between Union Station and the end of the line in Pasadena is $1.25, said Dave Sotero of the MTA.
Safety ambassadors" will be stationed at several intersections along the line for about three months to help motorists and pedestrians get used to the trains, the transit agency said.
The line is expected to carry 13,000 people a day, so the greater number of people who took advantage of the free service was "the ultimate stress test," Sotero said yesterday, adding "this one passed."
He said there were "no operational glitches."
