Metrolink Service From Perris To LA Set For Expansion

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Almost $5 million in public transportation expansion and incentive funds will be disbursed to agencies throughout Riverside County, and a large chunk of it will go toward expansion of the four-year-old 91/Perris Valley Line, which provides commuter rail service from stations in Perris and Moreno Valley to Los Angeles via Metrolink, it was announced Tuesday.

According to the California Department of Transportation, five services in the county will receive an aggregate $4.87 million for programs that qualified for infusions under Caltrans' Low Carbon Transit Operations Program, in place since 2014 and funded by Assembly Bill 32 Global Warming Solutions Act revenue.

A total of 158 projects statewide were included in the latest round of distributions, totaling $146 million, officials said.

"This investment will help reduce our impact on the environment and improve transit service, particularly for those facing economic barriers to mobility," Caltrans Director Toks Omishakin said.

The highest funding award in Riverside County will be a $2.58 million allotment for the Riverside Transit Agency's youth ride program, offering minors complimentary fares, and from Aug. 17 to June 30, 2021, providing the same service to college students as a way of promoting public transportation.

The Riverside County Transportation Commission will receive the next highest disbursal — $1.08 million for expansion for the 91/Perris Valley Line. The funding will be used to expand service on weekdays and weekends from Perris to Los Angeles. Service began in June 2016 and weekend service was added October 2019.

The third largest sum will go to the Thousand Palms-based SunLine Transit Agency, which will have $1.03 million to spend on a solar microgrid project, with the goal of maintaining a solar battery storage facility to deliver hydrogen fuel to the agency's fleet.

Smaller awards were earmarked for projects handled by the Palo Verde Transit Agency in Blythe, including a Free Fare Program for the general public and the Blythe Wellness Express, which provides residents express shuttles to multiple hospitals. The total earmark to the PVTA is $79,431.

The city of Beaumont also qualified for a $93,000 allocation in support of its Free Fare Program, focused on services to seniors, the disabled and veterans.

More information is available here.

—City News Service