Rising fuel costs hurting, helping economy in Utah

And there's always room for more, Jones said. Once fall comes and students go back to school and people start falling into a regular daily routine, UTA anticipates ridership will increase even more.

"We consider that a ticket one way is $1.40, and, for example, it cost me $5 to drive to work today," he said. "As gas prices continue to impact the family's budget, we hope they will consider taking the bus or TRAX as an option."

Although ridership is up, it doesn't counterbalance the impact of rising fuel costs for the buses. UTA consumes 5 million gallons annually in diesel fuel, and even a 1-cent increase in the price of gas costs the service $50,000.

To compensate internally, UTA has had to cut back on things such as travel for employee training, marketing and office equipment.

Operationally, UTA implemented a no-idling policy for its drivers, prohibiting operators from idling their vehicles for more than 10 minutes. Certain buses have altered routes based on fuel efficiency and all the minor operational changes have equated to 10 percent in savings.

"It really has impacted us," Jones said. "We're doing everything we can do to save every drop. It has really made us very conscious of every drop of fuel."

Not for everyone

There are Utahns whom UTA knows cannot make the switch to public transportation because of their particular commute requirements. Salt Lake resident Gary Harrison, for instance, commutes between a bakery job in Salt Lake City and a mortgage officer job in Orem. "I live in my car," he said. Although most people have cut back purchasing other items to compensate for gas prices, Harrison went for one of life's bigger essentials: shelter. He had been saving to buy a house, but he had to cut back on spending and saving when gas prices rose, and now he lives with friends. He switched to a cheaper car insurance, too.

But even though prices are pinching most people's pocketbooks, Utahns are not cutting back on big purchases such as cars and homes.

In the bedroom community of Tooele, where many residents commute up to 40 miles to Salt Lake City for work and entertainment, home sales are up.

"Our market is hot right now," said Jennifer Jones, president of the Tooele County Board of Realtors and a broker with Exit Realty. "We had a period of time when we had a very high rate of foreclosure and repossessed homes, but now we're leveling off. We've been coming back in the past three to six months. And we've just boomed."

She said Tooele County's listing bank is currently low because of the number of buyers, especially in Stansbury Park, which seems to be the best home-buying destination.

"You can get so much more for your money in Tooele than you can in Salt Lake," the Realtor said. "I don't see that (gas prices) affecting us."