A year of record boardings on the San Gabriel Valley’s Gold Line train is suppressing bus ridership, causing a local independent operator to propose substantial reductions to lines that offer similar service.

As a response to a passenger shift from buses to the light-rail foothill extension running from Pasadena to the Azusa/Glendora border for a year, West Covina-based Foothill Transit is proposing to slash bus lines, including Line 187, one of the most popular east-west bus routes that runs from Montclair to Pasadena, across the foothill cities of the San Gabriel Valley.

Foothill Transit will de-emphasize the connection between Azusa and Pasadena by splitting the line into two: an eastern and a western segment.

“With regards to Line 187 as it relates to the Gold Line, the Azusa to Pasadena ridership has really fallen off,” said Kevin McDonald, deputy executive director of Foothill Transit. “We are keeping the eastern portion, which will go to the Los Angeles County Arboretum and the Santa Anita Mall in Arcadia.”

Under the proposed restructuring plan voted for public consideration by the governing board on Friday, the agency will cut Line 187 in half, which will continue to run from Pasadena to Azusa. The split will also create Line 188, which will from Azusa to Montclair.

“We need more of the eastern portion, east of Azusa,” McDonald said, as opposed to the portion served by the Gold Line Foothill Extension. “Because the Gold Line has picked up some of the demand.”

Gold Line ridership continues to grow. The average weekday ridership in January and February was more than 52,000, according to statistics kept by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), which operates the light-rail lines and subways in the county. This time last year, weekday ridership was about 48,000.

Likewise, more people are riding the Gold Line on Saturday. In February 2016, Saturday ridership nearly reached 28,000. One year later, it has climbed to more than 32,000, according to Metro.

Foothill Transit, which runs 360 buses from western San Bernardino County, in the San Gabriel Valley and downtown Los Angeles, also is proposing to eliminate Line 481 from El Monte to Downtown Los Angeles; Line 494 from San Dimas to El Monte, and Line 851 from West Covina to Glendora, all due to low ridership.

In the case of Line 481, it is a victim of its own success. Riders can take Foothill’s Silver Streak commuter bus, which will connect with Union Station. There, riders will have to jump on Metro’s Red or Purple line subways to reach near other Los Angeles stops served by the 481 bus.

Lines 292 and 855 will be combined to make a brand new Line 292 connecting Pomona and Claremont.

Line 855 will be canceled.

These and other bus line changes will save $550,000, which will be reinvested in other bus services, McDonald said.

In the proposal, Foothill Transit also proposes raising the fares for adults, seniors, disabled and students by 25 cents a ride, according to the plan.

A single bus ride would jump from $1.25 to $1.50. Those using a pre-loaded TAP card either would not experience a fare increase, or see only a 5-cent increase for the first year.

Monthly passes for seniors and disabled riders would jump from $22 to $25. Monthly passes for students riders would increase from $33 to $40. But adult monthly passes would go down from $70 to $50 under the proposed rate restructuring plan.

Foothill will offer riders a day pass for the first time for $5 and $2.50 for seniors and disabled, said Felicia Friesema, a spokeswoman for the bus system. This will eliminate the need for paper transfers.

The plan goes out for public review from April 7 to April 22 during the following meetings:

• April 7, 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., Claremont Library, 208 Harvard Ave. North, Claremont, CA 91711.

• April 12, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Covina City Hall, 125 E. College St., Covina, CA 91723.

• April 13, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., San Dimas City Hall (Stanley Plummer Community Building), 245 E. Bonita Ave., San Dimas, CA 91773.

• April 18, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Pomona Library, 625 S. Garey Ave, Pomona, CA 91766.

• April 20, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., El Monte City Hall East, 11333 Valley Blvd., El Monte, CA 91731

• April 22, 9 a.m. (official public hearing), Foothill Transit offices, 100 S. Vincent Ave., West Covina, CA 91790.

All public comments must be received by April 24.

Comments can be sent by email to: changes@foothilltransit.org; by Fax: 626-967-4608 or by U.S. mail: Foothill Transit, Re: Changes, 100 S. Vincent Ave., Suite 200, West Covina, CA 91790.

After reviewing comments, the staff may make changes. The plan goes before the governing board for approval on May 26, McDonald said. New routes and fares could be in effect in October, he said.