Fares to Test Popular Blue Line : Transit: Introductory free rides end Wednesday. RTD officials hope commuters will pay the $1.10 one-way fare.

More than 600,000 passengers have tried the Los Angeles-Long Beach light rail service since it opened free of charge two weeks ago. Now comes the real test, RTD officials acknowledge, when the $1.10 one-way fare takes hold Wednesday.

“We’re delighted with the response,” said Alan F. Pegg, general manager of the Southern California Rapid Transit District.

The high ridership has encouraged RTD officials, who are hoping that the 22-mile Blue Line will attract freeway commuters willing to give up their cars for a train ride to downtown Los Angeles.

“We think that the Blue Line is proving itself nicely,” one RTD official said. “It’s certainly better and, I might add, more comfortable than being stuck in freeway traffic.”

As of midafternoon Monday, 624,000 riders had taken advantage of the free rides on the $877-million system, which opened July 14.

The highest ridership has been on weekends, with almost 50,000 passengers a day, RTD figures show. Weekday ridership has averaged about 35,000--far surpassing RTD projections of 5,000 passengers a day.

RTD officials have said that many of the riders during the first two weeks were sightseers and not commuters, but they remain optimistic that many downtown Los Angeles office workers will ride the trains.

To help persuade downtown workers to use the Blue Line, the RTD has added two more shuttle bus stops to take people to the Los Angeles terminus at Pico Boulevard and Flower Street. The new stops are located at 8th and Flower streets and 7th and Hope streets.

The new buses will travel east on 6th Street to Hope, then south on Hope to 8th. The shuttles will go west on 8th to Flower to continue their routes.

Pegg also emphasized that Blue Line passengers can bypass boarding the trains at Pico and Flower in favor of less-crowded stops at the San Pedro and Grand stations, which are located along Washington Boulevard.

In anticipation of Wednesday’s fares, transit officials said there will be no ticket sellers at any of the Blue Line’s 17 stations.

A total of 34 vending machines at the stations will dispense one-way tickets for riders. Instructions for using the machines are provided in English and Spanish.

RTD monthly bus passes will be honored as payment on all Blue Line trains, officials said.

Transit personnel will be at each station to help riders deal with the new ticket-vending machines, each costing about $40,000.

RTD officials said there will be no ticket collectors at the stations, but roving fare inspectors will check to see that riders have tickets. Fines for violators are $80 and can go up to $250.

Trains run every 10 minutes during weekday rush hours--5:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Trains operate every 15 minutes most other times.

The ride from Los Angeles to Long Beach takes 55 minutes.

HOW TO RIDE THE TRAINS Beginning Wednesday, riding the Blue Line will cost passengers $1.10. Here is information about purchasing tickets and using the line. Self-service ticket-vending machines take $1 and $5 bills and give change. RTD monthly bus passes, which cost $42, may be used on trains without additional cost. Long Beach Transit monthly bus passes, which cost $25, may be used, together with a 10-cent interagency transfer ticket.

Tickets entitle the purchaser to ride the entire length of the 19-mile Blue Line one way. Tickets must be used within two hours of being purchased.

Once riders have bought tickets, they will wait in a specially marked “paid” area of the platform until their train arrives.

Uniformed sheriff’s deputies will make random checks to ensure fare compliance. Violators are subject to citations or being removed at the next stop and made to buy a ticket.

Trains will arrive every 10 minutes during rush hours and every 15 minutes in off hours.

Passengers do not have to pass through any turnstiles or barriers, allowing for easy boarding.

Long Beach Transit will operate six shuttle buses every 10 to 20 minutes from the Anaheim Street station. The shuttles will run south on Long Beach Boulevard, west on 1st Street, north on Pacific Avenue, east on 8th Street and north on Long Beach Boulevard.

In Los Angeles, the Southern California Rapid Transit District will be meeting northbound trains at the Pico and Flower station and running shuttles every five minutes. Buses will run east on 12th Street, north on Hope Street, east on 11th Street, north on Figueroa Street, west on 6th Street and south on Flower Street.

For more information, call (213) 620-RAIL

Compiled by Times researcher Cecilia Rasmussen