Improving route efficiency and cutting pollution from buses has helped the Utah Transit Authority become one of the first transit agencies in the world to be internationally certified for its environmental and management standards.

The certification, from the International Organization of Standardization, was presented to UTA this past week. The ISO is a network of the national standards institutes of 156 countries. Its purpose is to foster the international coordination and unification of industrial standards. The certification must be renewed each year.

"This means the practices and procedures for your business meet very high standards," said Lou Sanders, director of research and technology for the American Public Transportation Association. "This sends a challenge to other transit agencies to improve management and environment standards."

UTA received the certification after three years of work. It changed several aspects of how it does business, including shutting off its buses in the morning to reduce unnecessary fuel emissions. In the past, buses were left to idle in the morning to be ready for operators to use, said UTA spokesman Justin Jones.

By cutting the time spent idling in the morning, the agency estimated it had saved $675,000 in fuel costs last year, Jones said.

Other changes include construction of a treatment facility to purify the water used to clean buses. The treated water is sent to a plant to be used again as secondary water. UTA estimates that recycling the water saved $500,000 last year.

Improvements to management include the purchase of a "contactless" fare collection program to be used on 40 ski buses, starting this fall. The system allows a person to use a swipe card, or someday a credit card, to board the bus or train.

By making the system electronic, it's easier to keep a count of passengers and track riding patterns, said Craig Roberts, a UTA consultant. The system, he said, will allow UTA to better track passengers and thereby improve service.

---

E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com