Higher fares, fewer routes

UTA general manger John Inglish says the changes are intended to capture more riders such as businessmen, college students or downtown residents who want a bus system that is speedy, reliable and easy to access.

But he admits the idea may not benefit some riders like Goff who depend on transit.

"There aren't that many of them," Inglish said. "The sense we have is that making it better for the markets we're focused on will make it better for them."

Of the 2,710 public comments that UTA received about the redesign, 65 percent criticized the plan, according to a UTA analysis. The comments show that people are both upset and confused about the impact of the changes.

The changes mean that Nikki Christensen, a 21-year-old University of Utah student with short brown hair and cat-eye glasses, will have to ride her bike to school or walk longer distances at night to catch a bus. She has created a blog at whereisuta.blogspot.com to talk about the changes.

"This is a huge impact on me," said Christensen. "I can't imagine how it will impact people who don't have options."

She worries about riding her bike on busy roads or walking longer distances at night. In 2004, she was hit by a car while riding her bike downtown. She broke her leg and wrist.

"Increasing fares and eliminating routes and trying to say it's beneficial to us is either crazy or disingenuous," she said. "It's the largest bus cut in UTA history."

UTA, however, says the redesign is not a "bus cut." Buses will run the same number of hours and miles, said Jerry Bensen, UTA chief performance officer.

The changes will save the agency money: The redesign budget shows a $627,136 annual savings over current operating costs. UTA said that money will be used to add bus service to areas where routes have been changed. Additions will be made once UTA has reviewed all public comments.

As protests and public outcry about the redesign have grown louder in recent weeks, the agency has revised its numbers of how many routes it is changing. When the redesign was announced in February, UTA said routes would be reduced from 117 to 54. A few weeks later, the agency said routes were being reduced from 98 to 54. Now UTA says the redesign is a change from 98 to 80 routes.

Agency spokesman Justin Jones said the previous numbers did not account for factors such as night routes and intercounty routes that are not changing.

Bill Tibbetts, director of the Anti-Hunger Action Committee, said the ever-changing numbers show that UTA is trying to "spin" the facts about the redesign.