Reader comments
Davis family shuns car, takes the bus

At this point paying $140 a month for a front runner pass is not cost effective. It won't be cost effective until gas prices reach $5 a gallon. UTA needs to bring the price down for the front runner and for the bus before they can expect people to make this kind of lifestyle change.

As a resident of Bountiful who has tried to use the bus system here, I must agree - it's a joke to try and use it for shopping, errands, even trips to government agencies. The places in Davis County where resident might need to go are not served by UTA. It would be easier to travel to Salt Lake than within the city by bus. If we add those miles to go there so we can take the bus, what have we saved when we might have been able to stay closer to home for those services? Just as S.L.County residents do not all live in Sandy and work in SLC making it possible for them to utilize Trax; not everyone living in Bountiful is heading downtown either. It is comical to me that UTA says we need to grow more to get improved service. I wonder where they think Bountiful will grow - we are filled in. They said they once had better bus service here and it was not used. Could it be that people still couldn't get where they needed to go? Perhaps routes were the problem. Different routes, small buses - creative problem solving?

I live and work in Bountiful and hoped to ride the bus to work, but there isn't one at the times I need it. And that's down Orchard Drive! I think if the busses were there, people would ride them.

Shun cars, and shun the appearance of cars! Shun everything, and then shun shunning!

$140 a month for a Front-Runner pass isn't realistic?

When I drive round-trip from Layton to SLC, I use 2 gallons of gas in my Prius. That's $6.20 a day.
If I drive my SUV, the gasoline cost doubles to about $13.00.

So for the cost of 2 weeks in an SUV, or a month in the Prius, I can SAVE FUEL, INSURANCE, WEAR AND TEAR, TIME, USE MY LAPTOP, MAKE CELLPHONE CALLS.....and that's not realistic?

I just wish I commuted, instead of ran errands.

But for dining out and movies, we'll take the rail or bus SLC.

After UTA got through "correcting" the SLC bus system, no one should ride anywhere. You can't get from the suburbs to anywhere except downtown or the U without first driving to the Park & Ride. After driving that far, just keep going.

Hooray, Hooray, Hooray for the Merrell family! They are excellent examples for all of us. It is not always convenient for them but they find a way to make it work. We are a lazy self-centered society. With a bit more planning ahead of time and a little more walking we would have cleaner air and healthier bodies. They are setting great examples for thier children, who will grow up more likely to use public transportation. Good for you Merrell family! Keep up the good work.

That's wonderful. If she chooses that is the way she wishes to travel then great. However, I'm not for taxing to death cars so that we're forced to use the government's preferred form of travel. Again freedom should ALWAYS prevail!

UTA has vacillated many times between offering local destinations and focusing on high-volume routes. We are currently in the latter end of the cycle. The problem is that for local routes to work, UTA, cities, and employers would need to do a huge media campaign about them (rather than general ads) to change people's mindset, and I don't remember them doing that (say, around 2000 when they had more local routes). So people don't ride, and UTA says it has failed.

And this idea of a magic gas-price threshold may be a pipe dream. We all thought it would be $2 and it wasn't; $3 and it wasn't. Why should we think that everyone will suddenly change at $4 (which is what my wife is currently saying) or $5? I think it takes something more for people to rethink their transportation. For me (3 years ago) it was the terrible parking at work and my employer offering cheap annual passes.

I just wish the UTA would work for me. I took the UTA to the U after they revamped the schedules and routes. I had to walk 8 blocks to the bus stop. It came early but lucky I was there early. I took the 7800 South bus to the Trax. I took the trax downtown. I waited only a few minutes for the train. It was standing/squeezing room only. I did not mind that.. Time elapsed was about 90 minutes. It takes me less than 30 to drive.

Coming home was worse. The bus that goes directly to the trax station on 7800 South was early. I tried to flag it down but the driver drove away. I then waited 15-20 minutes for a bus that meandered through the Avenues. Then I caught the Trax. When I arrived at 7800 I found out that I had missed the bus. I was surprised to learn that I had to wait 55 minutes for a bus. Total time from the time I left the the U to the time I entered my home: 2 hours and 40 minutes. Travel time was more than 4 hours for a one-hour round trip.

Ride a bike 8 blocks to the bus stop - 5min.
Ride the bus from Kaysville to Roy - 45min.
Ride the bike from Roy to Ogden airport - 15min.
Do it again in reverse to get home.
Total round trip time - 2 hours.

It takes 20min in my car each way.
Total time - 40min.

I get to read on the bus, working is limited on the bus, I have a chance of not having a space for my bike on the bus, and I'm gaining an hour and 20min away from my family each day for this? My TIME is worth something too.

My hat's off to the lady. She is doing something about our "brown" air. Many thanks to her!

The bus reduces congestion and gasoline use so, that's a good thing. It's unfortunate though that this is viewed as newsworthy.

"Shun the non-believers ... shun!"

People can poke fun all they want at other people who try to make a difference. People can also come up with all the good reasons they want for why they can�t walk, bike or take the bus. Cost, convenience, time etc. It doesn�t matter because the laws of nature will always trump what humans desire. In other words, the Salt Lake Valley�s air will continue to get more polluted, the planet will continue to heat up if we continue on our present path. The laws of nature dictate that. Each of us will choose what path we want to take. We either choose to live in an increasingly hot, polluted valley or we choose to take actions to lessen that certainty. We will also choose whether to look into our grandchildren�s eyes and say, �I did everything I could to make the planet a better place for you,� - or we will choose not to that. The Earth will go on with or without us � it�s your choice.

i rely on the bus to get everywhere and when they revamped it in august lets see - it hubby has to transfer twice instead of once to get to one appointment- getting to and from west jordan(temple area) after about 6:30 is impossible same with Saturday - can't even get to the walmart on 5400 S.I have to go to the one on 1300 S. And it is a true pain in the neck to have to go from bus 217 to 218 in order to get to Walmart and anywhere else that i may need to get to on the old 17 route. I think it's great that they are doing this on their own and that the bus service fits them but for those of us who live on the west or east side of the valley we don't get out much.

So, instead of getting their children to school safely by driving them there, the dad leaves them at the bus stop and then catches his own bus. So what happens if the school bus doesn't come? What if there's a nasty snow storm that blows in? Mom's at school and Dad can't get home because he takes the bus. =abandoned children

The Lord gave us fossil fuels. I plan on using them when I drive my SUV to work. I'll be sure to honk for the Davis family.

Henry wrote: "Shun the non-believers ... shun!" I'm really glad you wrote this because it highlights exactly what environmentalism is...a religion. Think about it. Earth is God. In order to be in good graces with the Earth you must sacrifice. Sacrifice is a big part of religion. Therefore you must offer your sins up to the Earth (ie give up your evil car, electricity, heating oil). I have nothing against religion I am a very religious person. But masquerading around perpetuating that your religion is science (when it's not) then you are lying. Apparently in this environmental religion lying is not a sin.

The earth has warmed and cooled over that last 100 years as it always has as it always has. Each time some crazy scientist comes to our "rescue." Can you imagine had we actually followed the recommendation to solve global cooling in the 1970's? We were suppose to put soot on the ice caps to help melt them. Now had we done that where would the sea level be today? What would be our new gloom and doom? I just hope we can hold off these waccos long enough so we can avoid global taxation.

Shun me for not wanting to spend an extra three hours a day commuting? I think it will be a blessing to be shunned by you.