Photo:SP8254/Flickr

Trying to follow the lead given last year when Mayor Villaraigosa devised a way to hold off proposed and "needed" service cuts at Metro, the Metrolink Board of Directors voted last week to hold off on increasing fares for at least a month while it looks for other options.

The Board was widely expected to increase fares from between 3.5% and 5.5% depending on the origin and destination of the trip.  Metrolink riders have been seeing higher and higher fares over recent years.  The Metrolink Board actually passsed a fare increase on top of a fare increase for July of 2008.

The San Gabriel Valley Tribune interviews a Metrolink Rider who breaks it down.

Riding the Metrolink since 2004, Highland
resident Raul Barrientos said he has seen his fare increase about $50
since 2005. Barrientos now pays $250 a month to ride from Baldwin Park
to San Bernardino.

What’s worse, Barrientos said, is that parking fees at the Baldwin Park station Friday from $30 a month $60 a month."The parking increases on top of the fare increases are an extra added weight," he said.

The Metrolink Board says they’re going to spend the next month combing the budget to try and find ways to hold off the fare increase.  If you got any ideas, leave them in the comments section and we’ll pass them along.