COMMUTERS RAIL AT HIGH GAS PRICES.

Byline: John Sanders and Michael Coit Staff Writers

BURBANK - With gas prices on the rise, more and more long-distance commuters are taking the less-expensive approach by leaving their cars at home and taking the Metrolink to work.

Ridership on Metrolink trains jumped 13 percent during the first 20 days of March, rising to an average of 32,117 passenger boardings a day compared with 27,491 during a similar period last year, said Metrolink spokesman Peter Hidalgo.

That's the highest number of passengers since the system opened in 1992.

``There appears to be a surge in passenger ridership at the same time that gas prices have reached their all-time high,'' Hidalgo said. ``More people are riding the Metrolink than ever before.''

With gasoline prices in Southern California fast approaching $2 a gallon, more and more commuters are buying passes to ride Metrolink trains.

``I think the prices of gas have really gone up out of control,'' said Lashanda Johnson, who rides the train from Lancaster to Burbank to go to work. ``It used to cost me $10 to fill up my car. Now it's $30 to fill up my car. This beats traffic as well as gas prices.''

Judy Pearson, a Chatsworth resident who commutes to her job in Burbank, where she is a senior manager at food concessionaire Aramark, has ridden the train five days a week since gas prices topped $1.88 a gallon. And she's not alone.

``When I get on in Chatsworth, by the time I get to Van Nuys it's standing room only,'' said Pearson, who figures she will save $80 this month by not driving to work. ``With the wear and tear on your car and everything else, it's just easier.''

Some new Metrolink riders said they even enjoy their carless commute.

``Once you get on the train and have a system to ride the train every day, I think a lot of people will stick by it,'' said Julius Mann, a Valencia resident who works in Glendale as a sales manager for the Automotive Systems Group.

Mann said he would have to spend two hours behind the wheel each day fighting traffic - an hour each way - if he commuted by car. Keeping a car near each train station, he now faces only a five-minute drive to the station and a five-minute drive to work.

He plans to keep riding the rails. Earlier this month, he bought the monthly Metrolink pass, $116 for his ride.

While Debbie Morrison looks forward to reading her book club selection on the train, the Saugus resident said she sometimes has difficulty finding a seat.

``The trains are real crowded. They need to get more cars,'' said Morrison, who commutes to Burbank, where she works in finance for Lockheed Martin.

Metrolink operates 124 trains per day in Southern California along six routes in Ventura County, Antelope Valley, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange County and the Inland Empire.

For more information, visit the Metrolink Web site at www.metrolinktrains.com or call toll-free at (800) 371-LINK.

The Associated Press contributed to this article

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Angry at high gas prices, commuters are flocking to Metrolink in record numbers, as at the Burbank station Wednesday.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer