Metro: Budget gap shrinks as ridership expectations improve

Metro faces a slightly smaller financial hurdle in the coming year than it expected, with the transit agency needing to find $66 million extra instead of $72.5 million to make ends meet, officials said Thursday. General Manager Richard Sarles told the board of directors that the agency has revised its budget forecast. He said his staff believes that the improving job market and rising gasoline prices may encourage more people to ride the system, shrinking the budget gap by $6 million.

The system hasn’t seen an increase in riders yet, he acknowledged, but he’s optimistic those factors will help his proposed $1.47 billion operating budget for fiscal 2012.