METROLINK SEEKS OPTIONS TO 13 PERCENT FARE HIKE.

Byline: David Bloom Daily News Staff Writer

A proposal to increase Metrolink fares by 13 percent over the next four years got a cool reception Friday from the board that runs the commuter rail system.

The Southern California Regional Rail Authority board asked its staff to look at several other alternatives to raising fares, said Metrolink spokesman Francisco Oaxaca.

The staff's original proposal would have hiked fares 6 percent this fall, 4 percent in 2000 and 3 percent in 2002.

Such a move would raise the cost of the distance-based monthly pass from $144 to $153 for trips between downtown Los Angeles and Santa Clarita this year, and to $163 by 2002, Oaxaca said.

The fare hikes, the first of their kind, were proposed because costs have risen gradually since service began in October 1992, Oaxaca said. The agency also has nearly exhausted its share of state rail bond funds that have helped finance most of the system's capital needs.

One alternative to higher fares is to try to increase ridership, although Oaxaca said most trips already run at 85 percent to 95 percent of capacity. Adding more cars or even entire trains would be expensive.

Other options involve smaller fare hikes spread over more years, to ease the impact, or a flat 25-cent or 50-cent increase across all kinds of fares that the agency charges.

The staff will report back with its analysis Feb. 13. Board members said they expect to hold more than one public hearing on the final suggested alternatives in each of the five counties where Metrolink operates.