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Metrolink Board Meets Today to Discuss Ousting Chief, Service Cuts
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Metrolink's board is scheduled to hold meetings today during which they will discuss the removal of Chief Executive David Solow, as well as service reductions, according to LA Now. Solow has been the focus of much scrutiny and criticism since the deadly September 2008 Chatsworth crash.
Doubts about Solow as leader have been felt within Metrolink's governing board. LA County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, one of the high-profile members of the agency's board, has expressed a loss of confidence "in Solow's ability to provide the leadership needed, given the array of financial and safety challenges confronting the agency," reports the LA Times. They have called a closed-door special session today to determine the fate of Solow's role at Metrolink "as well as a new management job being created to oversee a major safety improvement project."
Service cuts, however, loom in the public eye, and will be decided today, as well as another possible fare increase of 3% starting in February. They are looking to cut 14 trains, which serve about 850 riders daily, the bulk of which are on the Ventura line. Metrolink has reported a decline in ridership, and attribute their loss of ticket revenue to "high regional unemployment." Adding to their financial burden is their increased spending on safety and operational changes stemming from the Chatsworth accident.
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