DAILY RIDERSHIP ON METRO RED LINE SUBWAY NEARLY DOUBLES

Ridership on the 17.4 mile long Metro Red Line has nearly doubled since the subway system was extended to the San Fernando Valley on June 24, according to statistics compiled by 25 MTA schedule checkers who observe daily passenger boardings at each of the 16 subway stations and record their findings on hand-held computers.

            Prior to opening of three new stations at Hollywood/Highland, Universal City and North Hollywood, when the system was 11.1 miles in length, ridership on the subway averaged 65,150 daily boardings in the month of May. Ridership on the expanded subway after one week has surged to an average of some 120,516 daily boardings through last Friday, an 85 percent increase.

Ridership this past week also jumped by 5 percent on the 22-mile light rail Metro Blue Line to an estimated 63,000 boarding passengers and by 10 percent on the 20-mile light rail Metro Green Line to 27,500 boarding passengers.

Overall, ridership on the 59.4 mile Metro Rail System has increased to 211,015 daily boardings, or 42 percent, compared to the May figure of 149,050 daily boardings.

            Meanwhile, tabulations on ridership numbers for the new Metro Rapid Bus system, inaugurated on the same as the subway extension to North Hollywood, will begin Wednesday. In the San Fernando Valley, Metro Rapid buses run between Warner Center and Universal City Metro Red Line Station along Ventura Boulevard, a 16-mile distance. In Los Angeles proper itself, buses travel 26 miles from Santa Monica to Montebello along Wilshire and Whittier boulevards.

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