Ridership Is Strong In Gold Line Extension’s First Month

The Gold Line Foothill Extension departs westbound from the Azusa Downtown Station March 5.

Weekday boardings on the Gold Line Foothill Extension rose steadily in its first four weeks of operation and is expected to exceed more than half of first year projections, Metro officials said.

Courtesy of Metro.

Courtesy of Metro.

Average weekday TAP card readings showed boardings rose from just under 4,000 to nearly 5,000 in the first month. With Average weekday TAPs continuing to grow, The Foothill Extension is expected to reach 55 to 65 percent of first year projections in the first month, Metro officials reported.

Metro staff conducted surveys at the six new Gold Line stations at the end of March to gather rider data.

Of the new boardings at the six stations along the Foothill Extension, 71 percent are new riders, Of those new riders, 66 percent previously drove alone. Most of the new boardings are also traveling between the new stations and Pasadena, Metro said.

Metro learned that 57 percent of new riders traveled to Pasadena as their destination rather than Downtown Los Angeles.

A rider satisfaction survey showed that while the ease of finding five of the six Foothill Extension stations was high, riders found locating the Citrus/APU Station mostly difficult, Metro said.

Construction on the connecting road, extending Citrus Avenue to the Citrus/APU Station is expected to be completed in 20 weeks, according to Rosedale Land Partners, the entity heading the project.

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