ANAHEIM, Calif. — It’s 5:37 p.m. at the Anaheim train station when Oscar Sanchez boards Metrolink, carrying a bag of Tostitos, the Orange County Register reports.
As he steps into the belly of the commuter train’s first car, several riders erupt in cheers.
“Hey, hey, it’s Oscar. The chips are here,” screeches Sheila Fisher as he drops the bag near a bowl of guacamole.
Sanchez and Fisher are part of a growing number of commuters statewide choosing mass transit to get to work. In Southern California, Metrolink has seen its annual ridership increase 30 percent in five years, to 8.7 million passengers.
And while the system doesn’t pay for itself, it’s as cost-efficient as mass transit can get. Last year, passenger fees paid for half the rail system’s $91 million operating budget. The national average is typically 37 percent.
The numbers underscore the success of a system that celebrates its 10th anniversary today at the Santa Ana train depot, said transit officials.
“It proves to all the naysayers that trains will work in this metropolitan area,” said Art Brown, a Buena Park councilman and member of the Metrolink board of directors.
But while overall ridership is up for 29 of California’s largest transit systems, census figures show that only 5 percent of those who commute use public transportation. In Orange County, it’s less than 1 percent.
Commuters such as Fisher can’t understand it.
“Sometimes we look at the traffic through the window and say, ‘Why don’t they just take the train?'” said Fisher, a collections manager for Orange County’s credit union in Santa Ana.
Fisher, 59, is part of a group of Los Angeles-area residents who spend hours each week laughing, eating and gabbing with one another during their hour-long commute to and from work.
The group members, who call themselves the “Trainees,” are a cross-section of Orange County workers: engineers, bankers, loan experts, buyers, landscapers.
While their backgrounds are diverse, their attitudes are identical.
“Everyone just seems to have a good sense of humor,” said Fisher, a five-year Metrolink user.
So while thousands of motorists tackle clogged freeways each day, Fisher’s train crowd is busy organizing potlucks, shouting out answers to crossword puzzles and mocking the train conductor when he passes.
“El conductor grande famoso,” they yell at conductor Bruce Selby while eating chips, bread and cocktail wienies during a recent commute.
Selby said cliques such as the Trainees are common for people using Metrolink.
“It helps their commute to have others to talk to,” he said.
Still, Selby said he has never seen a group quite like the Trainees, who host parties nearly every week to celebrate birthdays, job promotions and holidays.
Last year, they held a Christmas party aboard the front car of Metrolink 611, decorating it with garland, tinsel and ornaments. And this year, the 12 commuters held a Seder for Passover.
Beyond partying, the group members give one another advice on everything from relationships to gardening.
“When you’re in a car, you have your space, but on the train you develop relationships and can broaden your experiences,” said Rita Linsey of Cerritos.
Linsey started taking the train in December when she started a job in Orange. The train shaves about five minutes off her commute.
But like most commuters, Linsey said riding the train isn’t just about saving time.
It’s about saving sanity.
“I save wear and tear on my body and mind,” said Steve Brown, a three-year commuter who joins the Trainees at the Orange depot.
The rail system has eased the commute for more than 60 million passengers since its first train hit the tracks 10 years ago.
At the time, rail officials had hoped 400 riders would use the trains the first day. Instead, 400 people clamored to get a seat on the first train bound for Union Station.
And the demand continued to grow beyond expectations.
Ten years ago, rail officials projected that a six-county system could attract 21,000 riders. It now serves more than 33,000 people a day.
“As fast as we open stations and lines, ridership fills right away,” said Brown, who also is a director for the Orange County Transportation Authority.
Not every commuter is thrilled.
Many complain of inflexible train schedules and crowded lines.
“It’s a stupid schedule,” said Joe Vecchio, a Santa Ana businessman.
“If you take the first Metrolink coming from L.A. and take the last one home, you can barely work an eight-hour day.”
A passenger survey conducted this year echoed similar complaints, prompting Metrolink to order 30 more cars to expand service and ease crowding within two years.
The train agency also worked out a deal last month for monthly pass holders using lines in Ventura and Orange counties to ride Amtrak for free. The program more than doubles the train options for the 5,800 riders using the Orange County line.
New stations planned for Buena Park and Yorba Linda also are expected to ease crowding, especially at the Fullerton station — one the busiest stops in the seven-route system.
For the Trainees, more riders are good news because they would like to add to their extended family.
“The beauty of riding with people you can laugh with is that you get home so fast, and you say, ‘Oh, my God. We’re already here,'” Fisher said.