Michael Packard recently questioned the wisdom of high-speed commuter rail from Weber County to Salt Lake City, in his piece titled, "Commuter rail too pricey for weakened economy," printed Aug. 14. He called for accountability from the Utah Transit Authority by saying, "The times demand the highest caliber of fiscal stewardship." While UTA agrees with this statement, we disagree with the other claims made by Mr. Packard.

With the introduction of commuter rail to the Wasatch Front, UTA is proud to provide a portion of the shared transportation solution to Utah's congestion problems while providing an excellent value to taxpayers as a fiscally responsible agency.

The benefits of commuter rail are numerous. To begin, Utah cannot afford to build enough highway lanes to meet current and future demand. Commuter rail will provide Utahns with an efficient transportation option that can grow with demand. As ridership increases, capacity on commuter rail can increase threefold with no additional construction. Commuter rail will have a positive impact on congestion by taking more than 10,000 cars off the road each day, the majority of them in the peak commuting period.

This is not to say that I-15 and other highway projects are not badly needed, but Packard's insinuation that transit is not cost-effective when compared to highways is incorrect and misleading. The elected officials of this region have approved a shared solution of both highway and transit improvement projects.

In addition to cost and congestion benefits, the first phase of commuter rail will save travel time from Pleasant View to Salt Lake City compared to driving. It will also provide riders with an additional 50 minutes of productivity, as they will be able to work, read, or relax during the comfortable ride.

Commuter rail will complement transportation solutions already in place. Buses and HOV lanes alone are simply not enough to meet future travel demand. While buses fill a great need to the community, they share the crowded road with all other commuters trying to move between Salt Lake and Weber counties. Commuter rail runs on a separated, fixed guideway that will allow commuters to travel at speeds up to 79 mph..

TRAX provides an excellent example of how fixed rail systems have a positive impact on transportation infrastructures. In 1999, before TRAX, UTA's bus system carried just over 23 million riders; in 2004 UTA carried more than 34 million passengers on its bus and TRAX system, an increase of more than 11 million riders. TRAX alone is carrying more than 44,000 passengers per day. During peak commuting hours, ridership on the TRAX Sandy/Salt Lake Line carries the equivalent of one lane of traffic on I-15.

In addition to the operating revenue UTA receives from local sales taxes, the agency has received $673 million in federal funding over the past decade. On average, Americans receive $3.90 in transit funding from the Federal Transit Administration. Citizens in UTA's service district receive an average of $301.49 per citizen. These federal dollars could have gone to other transit agencies such as New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc. Instead the money was awarded to Utah because of UTA's innovation, leadership and impeccable record of completing projects on time and on budget.

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Steve Meyer is the manager of Commuter Rail Engineering and Construction, Utah Transit Authority