In February 2026, Pomona North averaged 1,826 boardings a day. San Dimas averaged 461. Those are Metro's figures, first published by the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, and they put about 60% of the extension's riders at the end of the line.
San Dimas Station sits in the heart of downtown, a few feet from the Pacific Railroad Society Museum. Pomona North is built for transfers to Metrolink. Metro's own ride guide sends riders who want downtown Pomona onto Foothill Transit Line 291 along Garey Avenue.
The stop where the most riders get on is the one where you have to change to a bus to reach anything. The two quietest stops in the western half of the extension sit closest to a walkable main street. If you already live out here and want a car-free afternoon this fall, read the ridership numbers in reverse.
Where riders board, and what's within walking distance
Service between Azusa and Pomona started on September 19, 2025. Metro released five months of station counts to the Daily Bulletin, covering October 2025 through February 2026. The paper set them against projections made in 2022 for 2035. Those projections assumed the line would continue to Claremont and Montclair.
| Station | Avg. daily boardings, Feb. 2026 | 2035 projection | Walkable from the platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glendora | 464 | 1,860 | Glendora Village, about a 12-minute walk |
| San Dimas | 461 | 1,640 | Downtown San Dimas, right at the station |
| La Verne/Fairplex | 287 | 2,190 | Fairplex across Arrow Highway, University of La Verne, Old Town La Verne |
| Pomona North | 1,826 | 5,950 | Metrolink transfer; downtown Pomona by bus |
Total boardings across the four stations rose from 2,817 a day in October to 3,038 in February. The September 2026 update from the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority reports that A Line ridership is up more than 14% over the line's first year. That bulletin doesn't give station-level counts, so the February split is still the most detailed picture available.
The trip itself costs $1.75 one way on Metro's regular fare. Parking at all four stations is $3 a day on weekdays and free on weekends and federal holidays, according to Metro's parking page. Daytime weekend trains run every 10 minutes. Free weekend parking means you can drive to whichever station is closest, then ride one or two stops to the downtown you want to walk.
San Dimas puts the platform inside the downtown
The Campus Times at the University of La Verne measured the ride from La Verne to San Dimas at five minutes. Its profile of the station area reads like a short walking loop.
- Pacific Railroad Society Museum, steps from the platform.
- The Walker House, at North San Dimas and East Bonita Avenue. It was completed in 1887 as the San Dimas Hotel and now holds the San Dimas Historical Society's museum, archives and gift shop on its second floor, along with Vincenzo's Terrazza.
- Old Towne Antiques, around the corner. It has spent 34 years on fine furniture, jewelry and vintage pieces.
- San Dimas Ace Hardware on Bonita Avenue, family-owned since 1935. Along with the hardware, it stocks frozen peach pies from The Pie Company, old-fashioned candy and local jam, and hands out free popcorn on weekends.
- Roady's Family Restaurant, across Bonita Avenue. It has served breakfast, lunch and dinner for more than 70 years.
The same profile lists San Dimas Grain, A & N Collectibles and Sweet Savory Cafe & Bakery within walking distance of the station. San Dimas was also the one stop where the train showed up at the cash register. A sales associate at the hardware store told the Campus Times she had noticed many customers coming from the Metro A Line.
The best date for this stop this fall is Saturday, October 24. The city's annual Halloween Spooktacular runs from 5:30 to 9 p.m. and has moved to a new location in Downtown San Dimas. The event is free. Weekend parking at the station is free that day, and the event is within walking distance of the platform.
Glendora asks for twelve minutes on foot
Glendora Station is on South Vermont Avenue, next to the post office. The Campus Times profile of the Glendora stop puts it 12 minutes on foot from Glendora Village and 11 minutes by train from La Verne. That walk is the difference between Glendora and San Dimas, and in February Glendora's count edged San Dimas anyway, 464 to 461.
The Village pairing the profile recommends is barbecue at Frisella's Roastery, which moved to downtown Glendora from La Verne, followed by ice cream across the street at The Ice Cream Shop. The shop serves Fosselman's, which dates to 1919. Lorisa Gardens, Nelson's Drug Store and Pure Soul are also within walking distance. When the profile ran in February 2026, staff at both Frisella's and The Ice Cream Shop told the paper they had not yet seen many A Line customers.
Glendora Village has three dated reasons to make the walk before Thanksgiving:
- Farmers Market, every Wednesday from 5 to 9 p.m. on Glendora Avenue between Foothill Boulevard and Bennett Avenue. The next Wednesdays are October 28 and November 4, 11, 18 and 25, according to the Glendora Chamber listing.
- Halloween Walk, Friday, October 30, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Holiday Stroll, Friday, November 20, 6 to 9 p.m.
All three events fall on weekdays, when station parking costs $3. On those days, the cheaper option is a Foothill Transit connection or a ride from a station closer to home.
La Verne/Fairplex waits for the big dates
La Verne/Fairplex was the least-used of the four stations in February, at 287 boardings a day against a 2035 projection of 2,190. The Daily Bulletin noted that the station sits across Arrow Highway from the northern edge of the fairgrounds and that the L.A. County Fair each May could push its numbers up. During the 2026 fair, which ran May 7 to 31, Metro promoted a Fair Flyer shuttle from the station to the Fairplex Red Gates every 30 minutes.
So this station's ridership tracks the fairgrounds calendar. The next date on that calendar is Saturday, November 21. That's when Fairplex brings back Fall in the Farm from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with hands-on agriculture activities, workshops and vendors. Admission is free with online registration, and Fairplex charges for parking. Weekend parking at the A Line station is free.
Pomona North is a transfer point
Pomona North is the end of the line and the transfer to Metrolink's San Bernardino Line. It's also where Metro marked the extension's first anniversary. Rock the Rails II on September 20, 2026 drew hundreds of people for local bands and the 909 Open Market.
Downtown Pomona's fall calendar is the fullest of the four, but every date on it starts with a Line 291 bus from the station. These listings come from the Downtown Pomona events calendar:
| Date | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 24, noon to 10 p.m. | Monster Fest | 197 W. 2nd St. |
| Sat., Nov. 14, 5 to 10 p.m. | ArtWalk, held monthly on second Saturdays | 197 W. 2nd St. |
| Sat., Nov. 28, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Downtown Pomona Collectors St. Faire | 100 E. 2nd St. |
Monster Fest and the San Dimas Spooktacular fall on the same Saturday. If you have one evening, San Dimas is the event you can walk to from the platform.
The stations east of Pomona are years away
The 2035 projections assumed more stations to the east. As of the Construction Authority's Fall 2026 newsletter, the Pomona to Claremont segment is in design and pre-construction. Major construction is expected to begin in late 2027 and take about four years. Claremont to Montclair stays on hold after San Bernardino County's September 2025 funding decision. The Daily Bulletin's April column reported an earlier estimate of a 2028 start and a 2032 opening for Claremont. The newsletter is the more recent of the two.
Until Claremont opens, Pomona North remains the end of the line and the transfer to Metrolink, and San Dimas and Glendora remain the new stops with a downtown within walking distance. Free weekend parking, a $1.75 fare and trains every 10 minutes cover the rest of the trip.
At MW Lofts Pasadena, our homes sit on the same A Line in Pasadena's Playhouse District, where the train runs west to Pasadena and east toward these foothill stops. Register for Your Visit and plan a tour around a ride on the line.
