All aboard? Not quite

It was just before a holiday weekend, but the bus was full, with maybe one seat available.

Still, riders shook their heads to see the vehicle anything other than jam-packed. If people are not standing in the aisle, the bus is considered "near-empty."

"This is the emptiest, I'd have to say, I've seen it in six months," said Sharrif Dajany, an employee with the Utah Department of Workforce Services.

For Dajany, a Lehi resident, the express bus is his only option for commuting into Salt Lake City, other than driving his own vehicle. It will remain his only option for many years — perhaps until 2015 or 2030. That appears to be the soonest other commuter options will be available in Utah County.

While residents of Davis and Weber counties should be riding commuter rail by 2008, funding hasn't been pledged to bring the train from downtown Salt Lake into Utah County.

Local dollars are necessary to build commuter rail, according to the Utah Transit Authority. And the political will to fund the Utah County portion seems lacking.

"I would not like to end up like Davis and Weber," said Utah County Commissioner Steve White. "They've been paying for it all this time."

In 2000, voters in Davis and Weber counties agreed to a quarter-cent sales tax increase to fund commuter rail. Salt Lake County partially funded the project with one-quarter of the revenue raised by a quarter-cent sales tax increase.

Now, five years later, UTA officials anticipate they will receive federal approval to break ground on the project. Final federal approval is expected this fall.

"If we go forward with funding commuter rail, it's 2012, 2014, 2015 before we actually see it," White said.

Along with commuter rail, other transportation options are being studied, including expansion of I-15, light rail and bus rapid transit.

UTA has already purchased right of way to extend TRAX into Utah County. Commuter rail, along with the other transportation options, is "essential" to accommodating future population growth and alleviating congestion, according to John Inglish, UTA general manager.

The project, along with needed traffic relief, will only be delayed longer if local funding isn't obtained.

"I truly believe that a serious part of Utah's transportation problems have to be addressed in Utah County," Inglish said. "Commuter rail isn't just for Utah County's sake. It's all one big part of a metropolitan area. If you leave one piece out, it affects everyone."