In a move that would dramatically transform transportation on the South Coast, local agencies are in talks with Los Angeles-based Metrolink to provide commuter service from Ventura County to Santa Barbara and Goleta, beginning in April.

Metrolink is a commuter rail service based in Los Angeles that has service lines to Ventura, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and San Diego counties.

The Santa Barbara County Association of Governments, the Ventura County Transportation Commission, Metrolink and the Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo rail corridor are talking about partnering with Metrolink to provide morning commuter service on the Union Pacific train tracks. Commuters would return south in the evening on a Pacific Surfliner.

“Potential for Metrolink service will not only provide a more enjoyable and efficient option for commuters, but also alleviate congestion along the heavily traveled Highway 101 corridor,” Marjie Kirn, executive director of SBCAG, told Noozhawk.

Officials have been quietly talking about the possibility of bringing Metrolink into Santa Barbara and Goleta, but the public will have the opportunity to first hear about the plan at Wednesday’s South Coast Subregional Planning Committee meeting inside the Wisteria Conference Room at the SBCAG office building, 260 N. San Antonio Road. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m.

You can find the agenda for the South Coast meeting by clicking here.

Although the meetings are open to the public, they are not recorded. Officials and staff, however, often hash out important policy items at the meetings, ahead of the regular Santa Barbara County Association of Governments monthly meetings when formal votes take place. Subregional meetings happen in both the North County and the South County, on the same day.

The South Coast has struggled in its attempts to create reliable, consistent commuter service from Ventura County. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, about 15,000 people commuted from Ventura County and Lompoc, Buellton and Santa Maria to jobs on the South Coast.

While Santa Barbara and Goleta are job hubs for the service, tech and government industries, the lack of affordable and middle-income housing has led to people living in less expensive areas and commuting into the South Coast.

Activists and government planners are trying to track vehicle miles traveled and support housing and alternative transportation efforts that alleviate the congestion on Highway 101, which can feel like a parking lot in the morning and afternoon driving through Montecito, Carpinteria and Summerland.

After decades of talks, government agencies were able to retime a Pacific Surfliner train for a morning and evening commuter train service in 2018.

Ridership on the train, however, was low, and the times did not sync well with employer start times. Then, the pandemic hit, and LOSSAN canceled the service altogether.

With the pandemic over, SBCAG and VCTC have launched talks to create a new commuter service.

It’s unclear how much the service will cost, but the changes in the 2020 U.S. Census population count have created new funding opportunities for rail on the South Coast. SBCAG also plans to use Measure A rail funding as a match for any federal funds.

The preliminary concept is for Metrolink to leave Moorpark at 6:33 a.m., with stops in Camarillo, Oxnard, Ventura, Carpinteria, Santa Barbara and Goleta.

Commuters would then travel back to Ventura County beginning at 4:25 p.m. from Goleta, going through all the cities again, with a final stop in Moorpark at 6:05 p.m. The return trip would be on the Pacific Surfliner.

Metrolink began in 1992 and emerged as popular alternative transportation link. It has seven lines, 62 stations, and passengers who travel about 406 million passenger miles per year, according to Metrolink’s website.

“SBCAG is thrilled to be working with the Ventura County Transportation Commission to potentially restore an early morning commuter train from Ventura County to Santa Barbara and Goleta,” Kirn said.

Metrolink plans to work on a cost proposal, and the full SBCAG board of directors plans a full public hearing in December.

“VCTC and SBCAG are excited to be evaluating potential options to improve train service in the corridor, working with Metrolink and LOSSAN,” VCTC Executive Director Martin Erickson told Noozhawk.