New bus routes 'deviate' into neighborhoods

SANDY — Near 2100 East, Diana Javier turned her 15-seater off the main drag — 9400 South — and headed into a neighborhood of newish, stucco-brick homes that pretty much all look alike.

She eased up to the curb of one home and the doors of her bus, one of those Utah Transit Authority buses that looks like a hotel-airport shuttle bus, swung open.

"Hi!" she said to the rider. "I'm sorry I'm running a little bit late."

"You're not late," the rider said.

Minutes later, the bus was back on 9400 South, which is the normal route. Javier's side-trip into the neighborhood was what's called in the transportation industry a "deviation." And in coming months, UTA will introduce additional deviated routes along the Wasatch Front. Small buses and vans will deviate into neighborhoods that are within three-quarters of a mile of a regular route.

In UTA-speak, they will be called "Flex" routes. (Not to be confused with Flex Trans, what UTA used to call paratransit service in Salt Lake County. It abandoned the term several years ago.)

All Flex routes are identified with the letter "F" before the route number. For instance, the route Javier drove recently was the F94, a circular route between the 9000 South TRAX station and a park-and-ride lot at 9400 South and 2000 East that UTA has offered since August 2007, said UTA spokesman Gerry Carpenter.

Monday, UTA began the F518 in Riverton and the F546 in Draper. On Sept. 8, service will begin on the F400 in Tooele and the F-401 in Grantsville. Since Grantsville has a small population, the bus picks people up on request only and does not run regular service throughout the day. Maps of the specific routes can be found at rideuta.com. Riders need to call UTA at least two hours before they want the bus to pick them up. The service costs $1 in addition to the regular fare. If riders have regular monthly transit passes, they must pay the bus driver $1 and flash the pass. People who qualify for paratransit service receive a free bus pass for regular buses and will only have to pay $1 for the deviated route, Carpenter said.