Metrolink awarded $1.7 million for fare enforcement program

An additional $1.7 million will be allocated to Metrolink for 100 percent fare enforcement on all Antelope Valley Line trains, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (LACMTA) board determined last week.

The additional allocation will be used to ensure 100 percent fare enforcement on the line through June 30, 2015. The funding will help continue and augment Metrolink's pilot program, which began Oct. 31, to beef up fare enforcement, Metrolink officials said in a press release.

"We have known for too long that we need to address this issue, and now we have committed the resources to make certain everyone on Antelope Valley Line trains have paid the proper fare and are following the rules," said Los Angeles County Mayor Michael Antonovich, who serves as a LACMTA appointee to Metrolink's board.

In October, Metrolink launched the pilot program, which involved adding assistant conductors on the Antelope Valley Line to check for tickets. Metrolink also instituted a policy at Los Angeles Union Station to prevent people without a ticket from boarding, and provided aggressive fare inspections at the Glendale and Burbank stations to prevent passengers from making "short-buys," whereby a passenger buys a ticket for a shorter and less costly trip than they intend to make.

The $1.7 million will come from Metrolink-specific sources, specifically Proposition C and Measure R funds.