[www.sgvtribune.com]

Not surprisingly, the Gold Line and Expo Line posted their highest ridership numbers ever in the last four to eight months, two bright spots among a 25-year-old rail network in Los Angeles County struggling to gain passengers.

For the first eight months of the year, the horseshoe-shaped Gold Line from Azusa to East Los Angeles increased ridership on weekdays by 9 percent, while the Expo Line from Los Angeles to Santa Monica increased ridership by 42 percent, according to January-August numbers released by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) last week.

On the 31-mile Gold Line, an 11.5-mile extension from east Pasadena to the Azusa/Glendora border at Citrus Avenue that opened in March accounts for the increase. Likewise, the 6.6-mile extension in May of the Expo Line from Culver City to Santa Monica drew additional riders to the 15-mile line, said Jon Hillmer, Metro senior executive director for service development.

The two new suburban extensions touching opposite ends of the county bumped up ridership in 2016 in central metropolitan areas, on the Red and Purple lines connecting downtown Los Angeles to Hollywood and Koreatown, and on the Blue Line from L.A. to Long Beach. Red/Purple line weekday ridership jumped 4.2 percent in the same eight-month period. Blue Line weekday ridership jumped 12.4 percent. Red/Purple line ridership had been dropping since reaching historic highs in the second half of 2013.

“The Gold Line has shown nice increases year after year,” Hillmer said. “The Expo Line has drawn more riders into downtown L.A. and they have a spillover effect, particularly on the Blue and Red lines.”

Though most expected to see more weekday riders after two extensions added 13 new stations creating a 100-mile rail network, what is more surprising is the jump in Saturday and Sunday riders. The Gold Line ridership increased 20 percent on Saturdays and 24 percent on Sundays. The Expo Line’s Saturday ridership rose 60 percent and 100 percent on Sunday, according to statistics compiled by the blog letsgola.wordpress.com.

For example, 15,464 riders rode the Expo Line in January. After the link to the beach opened, the number doubled to 32,503 by August. Gold Line has 36,435 riders on Saturdays, only 14,000 less than weekday riders (50,744) for August.

Why do these lines show bigger increases on weekends than weekdays?

Riders tell Metro they like saving money on parking.

Parking at the Sept. 18 Los Angeles Rams game at the Los Angeles Coliseum was as high as $200, according to some bloggers and fans. The Expo Line — with stops at USC and Exposition Park — carried 21,000 of the 80,000 who jammed the Coliseum for the Ram’s first win, Metro reported.

“I know some friends from West Los Angeles who are music aficionados and go to the Music Center downtown but hate to pay $35 to park your car,” said Bart Reed, executive director of The Transit Coalition, a nonprofit, pro-mass transit group based in the San Fernando Valley.

While exiting the symphony for the nearest train station may be a breeze, hopping an Expo train with 20,000 riders exiting the Coliseum meant long lines and required plenty of patience. It took about 90 minutes to clear the last passenger, and that was with three-car trains every six minutes, Hillmer said.

On Oct. 2, the next Rams home game, Metro will add 10 Silver Line buses from El Monte and the South Bay to the Coliseum, he said.

One problem of success is crowded trains. Hillmer said Gold Line passengers will have to wait indefinitely for more three-car trains. Instead, Metro soon will decrease the time between trains from seven minutes to six minutes during peak hours. Train frequencies on the Expo Line will go from 12 minutes to six minutes by the end of December, he said.

Some see weekend rail and bus ridership to Rams, USC and UCLA games increasing through 2018 before the Rams move into their new stadium in Inglewood and when soccer comes to downtown L.A. Others say it’s not just the money saved at $1.75 per ride.

“During the trip, you can actually hold your son or daughter’s hand — you are parenting. Kids love trains and parents can actually pay attention to their kids. It changes the dynamics of the city,” Reed said.