The Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus fares are going up soon, but companies that are enrolled in an MTA program will help their workers sidestep the increase, at least for now.

Employees at Los Angeles-area Pollo Campero restaurants, for example, are lining up for their tickets to ride.

Fifty percent of eligible employees are expected to take advantage of low bus fares offered by the chicken fast-food chain. That’s compared to 15 percent of Pollo Campero employees who were using the passes before the fare hikes were announced.

“We have been getting a tremendous response from employees since prices were raised,” said Frank Mitchell, vice president of human resources and governmental affairs for Adir Restaurants, the master franchiser of Pollo Campero restaurants in the western United States.

About 100 companies participate in an MTA program that provides worker passes at steep discounts. The MTA is locked into the current rates for up to 18 months.

Pollo Campero buys yearly bus passes from the MTA for its 400 eligible employees those who work full-time or work the opening or closing shifts for prices ranging from $80 to $160 each. Employees who opt in buy the pass for $108 a year.

A standard bus pass now costs $52 a month. That’s going up to $62 on July 1 and up to $75 one year later.

“We made a deal to extend our contract and freeze the rates for the next year. You can reserve the passes for a year and save a lot of money,” Mitchell said.

Workers at companies that are in the program including large corporations such as Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and the Omni Hotel, and smaller operations such as the Daily Grill at Universal Studios City Walk and Sparks Woodfire Grill in Studio City will be locked in to their pre-hike rates, said Kim Upton, spokesperson for MTA.