Metrolink’s Simi Valley Fares to Be Cut : Transit: Commuters to San Fernando Valley complained that ticket prices were geared to those traveling to downtown. Change takes effect Dec. 1.

In a move to boost ridership, Metrolink fares for commuters boarding in Simi Valley will be lowered Dec. 1, transit officials said.

The change came after many Simi Valley residents who work in the San Fernando Valley complained that fares for their commute were too costly because rates were geared toward downtown Los Angeles commuters.

Directors of the Southern California Regional Rail Authority voted unanimously to shift Simi Valley to a different fare zone, lowering the price of one-way single-trip tickets from Simi Valley by $1.

The cost of a monthly pass between Simi Valley and Burbank or downtown Los Angeles will drop from $176 to $144. Monthly passes between Simi Valley and Van Nuys will fall from $144 to $112, and from $112 to $80 between Simi Valley and Chatsworth.

“It was a question of looking at the equity,” said Jacki Bacharach, chairwoman of the five-county rail authority. “We had put Simi Valley into a zone as though everybody was going to make the trip downtown. This has made us much more sensitive to the different travel patterns we’re seeing.”

The Simi Valley change was the first and only fare change approved by the board Friday after a review of Metrolink’s first three weeks of operation. The commuter system provided free service during its first week.

Although the rail authority board told its staff to review other possible fare changes, Bacharach said the board is not likely to slash rates for the entire system.

“I don’t foresee that happening immediately because we have to see what our revenue is against expenses,” she said. The fares are based on the number of zones a rider crosses. Simi Valley has been in the same zone as Moorpark, but under the new structure, it will be in the same zone as Chatsworth.

Richard Stanger, executive director of Metrolink, estimated that about 30 passengers a day are riding from Simi Valley to Chatsworth, and another 50 to Burbank.

Fares from the Moorpark station will remain unchanged.

Metrolink officials also announced Friday that train rides to downtown Los Angeles will take less time beginning Dec. 1.

Travel times to Union Station will be cut by 17 minutes on the Ventura County line, which originates in Moorpark; by 12 minutes on the Santa Clarita line, which begins in that city; and by nine minutes on the San Bernardino line, which starts in Pomona.

The system will cut travel times because of track improvements and because dispatchers, train operators and passengers have become more familiar with the service.