Metrolink customers riding the San Bernardino-to-Los Angeles are set to see a 25 percent fare reduction, starting July 1, under a program announced this week.

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a bus and light-rail entity that also provides funding for Metrolink, the six-county commuter train service, has decided to provide about $2 million to cut the fare for one year to stem a five-year drop in Metrolink ridership and attract new riders.

According to Metro, ridership on the Metrolink line has declined 16 percent between 2013 and 2018. The average weekday ridership peaked at 11,426 in 2013 and fell to 9,580 today.

One of the major factors is the extension of Metro’s less expensive Gold Line light rail, which currently goes as far east as Downtown Azusa and Azusa Pacific University/Citrus College. The loss of riders on the Metrolink commuter rail are highest from Metrolink stations nearest the two Azusa Gold Line stations.

For instance, the Covina Metrolink Station has experienced a 27 percent loss of ridership since the Gold Line was extended in March 2016.

“Improving Metrolink ridership and service is critical to our joint goals of reducing congestion, improving our air quality and enhancing mobility in the basin,” Metro board member and Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis said in a statement.

The program goes before the Metrolink board of directors on May 11 and is expected to be approved.

The proposed fare reduction is similar to other programs already in place on the commuter rail system.

When Metrolink reduced fares by 25 percent on its Antelope Valley Line two years ago, it experienced a 20 percent increase in ridership, Sherita Cofelt, spokesperson for Metrolink, said Friday.

Likewise, riders on the new Perris Valley Line, a 24-mile extension of the 91 Line, have enjoyed reduced fares since December 2016. The 25 percent discount is continuing indefinitely, the agency announced in January. It is only for riders who board at one of the four stations in Riverside’s Hunter Park, Moreno Valley, Perris or southern Perris.

That line’s ridership rose from 9,258 trips in December 2016 to 16,936 trips in May 2017, the agency reported.

“We hope to see the same positive results on the San Bernardino Line,” Cofelt said.

The San Bernardino Line stops in Rialto, Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Montclair, Claremont, Pomona-North, Covina, Baldwin Park, El Monte, Cal State Los Angeles and L.A. Union Station.

A one-way regular ticket from San Bernardino to Union Station costs $13.25, but would be $9.94 after the discount. A senior paying $6 would pay $4.50. The discount also applies to Metrolink’s 7-Day Pass and monthly pass. It does not apply to the $10 weekend day pass.

Both agencies hope the lowered fare would increase ridership and take cars off the busy 10, 60 and 210 freeways.

Cal State LA President William A. Covino believes it could help reduce congestion in and around the university. “Many of our students, faculty and staff take advantage of the excellent service provided by Metrolink, which has a station at our university,” Covino said in a statement. “We hope more commuters use the system under this new program.