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In a campaign to attract new riders, the Twin Cities’ Metro Transit will reduce fares by $1 for most weekday trips on the Northstar commuter-rail line starting tomorrow.

The campaign is designed to encourage commuters who currently drive alone on highways in the Northstar corridor to trade “unpredictable, start-and-stop rush-hour traffic for reliable, smooth travel on Northstar trains,” Metro Transit officials said in a prepared statement.

The campaign’s marketing efforts will include newspaper advertisements, billboards along the Highway 10 corridor and direct mail targeting downtown Minneapolis workers who reside along the line.

“Surveys show that once commuters try Northstar, they value it and keep riding,” said Metro Transit General Manager Brian Lamb. “However, surveys also show that non-riders perceive fares to be too high. This promotion encourages those commuters to get on board and experience the comfort and near-perfect on-time performance of Northstar.”

Also, the agency is working with businesses that offer the Metropass employer-based transit program to promote the fare reduction to employees. About 33,000 commuters are enrolled in the Metropass program, which is available to 177,000 employees at 267 Twin Cities-area employers, agency officials said.

The promotion is intended to help build long-term ridership and maximize the regional investment in Northstar, they said. The region’s first modern commuter-rail line has operated within budget since opening in November 2009, despite falling short of pre-launch ridership projections, officials said.