For too long, mass transit has been like a four-letter word in Ventura County. People shun the thought of having to ride Metrolink from Simi Valley, Moorpark and Camarillo to downtown Los Angeles when they can drive a car instead.

The freeways are crowded, to be sure, but riding on a bus or a train with the masses?

Not a chance, most car-crazy Southern Californians will say. Give me my air-conditioned automobile any old day.

Metrolink won’t help its cause by raising rates, as expected, on April 23. If the agency’s board of directors approves the hike, the monthly pass on the Ventura County line from Simi Valley to downtown Los Angeles will increase by at least 4 percent from $163.50 to $170. The cost from Moorpark to L.A. will jump from $200 to $208. The increase would go into effect July 1.

A fare restructuring proposed for 2005 would raise rates even more.

Metrolink says it’s only trying to cover escalating costs.

If you’re a regular Metrolink commuter, the price increase means very little. With the cost of gasoline going through the roof, a person who drives to downtown on a daily basis could spend that much on fuel alone, not to mention vehicle wear and tear and the time spent in traffic jams.

Mass transit makes sense; too bad it’s shunned by so many. But perhaps that’s a wrong assessment. For most county residents, mass transit, in all its iterations, simply isn’t accessible or feasible. We think more attention needs to be paid to mass transit, not less.

As the world’s oil reserves head toward depletion in the next half century, we will have no choice but to rely on mass transit and alternative fuels.

The sooner we hop aboard, the better.