Deseret News | Hundreds try out FrontRunner for Monday commute

Reader comments
Hundreds try out FrontRunner for Monday commute

Matt | 2:46 p.m. April 28, 2008

The parking at Layton is a joke. It's already beyond capacity. That's going to be the busiest station, and it has the least amount of parking.

Joe | 3:29 p.m. April 28, 2008

I doubt it will stay busy after the next two days. Once the rides aren't free, all the mommies and children will stay home.

re: Joe | 4:08 p.m. April 28, 2008

My guess is that after the mommies & children stay home (if indeed they are the ones filling the FrontRunner) the commuters will be that much happier to have it! The people that I know who make the commute have been waiting anxiously for this.

Comments continue below

Bob | 4:24 p.m. April 28, 2008

Do they have internet access on Frontrunner yet?

Eyore | 4:27 p.m. April 28, 2008

It'll never work.....just like the horse-less carriage. When I was young we walked and WE LIKED IT!
We didn't have planes, trains or automobiles....
Gol-darnit!

Their celebrity was Gallagher | 4:48 p.m. April 28, 2008

Is there a chance the track will bend?

Fan | 4:50 p.m. April 28, 2008

Our family rode on FrontRunner today to get lunch downtown. The Cadillac ride was great despite all of us freeloading today. One suggestion would be for UTA to better coordinate those departing and boarding the trains. At the Salt Lake hub it seemed that people could have exited on one side of the train before others boarded on the opposite side. Thankfully everyone on our trains was polite and courteous despite the inflated numbers. The traffic on I-15 was noticeably lighter today and I hope the trend continues. Oh, the new Trax stops made it extremely convenient to get lunch at Gateway! Mass transit, however delayed, is headed in the right direction. Let's get services to the West side of Salt Lake Valley and down to Utah County going.

paying frontrunner | 5:41 p.m. April 28, 2008

Wishing, during this week, the paid frontrunners road first, then the free riders could ride after the workers were on, if there was available space. Very frustrating. Better yet, free rides only on weekends, and keep the express buses until the free rides were no longer. Made the commute home very frustrating.

Rich | 5:43 p.m. April 28, 2008

The FrontRunner will be great for those of us who want to take a train but couldn't afford to pay the cost without help from taxpayers who don't need or won't use the service. The monthly fare will be $145, and that is a tiny fraction of the true cost. So thank you, citizens of Utah, for financing this wonderful governmental project. It might not do anything to reduce traffic on I-15 with only 10,000 to 25,000 people projected to use FrontRunner within a few years; but this brings us into line with other big cities, such as San Francisco and New York City, where people are learning that it takes a village to create a fantastic programs such as this. No private company could have done it because there wasn't any money to be made. My question is, if only 25,000 people a day are going to use FrontRunner in a few years, wouldn't it be possible to expand that number by continuing free fares for a few years? I wonder what percentage of commuters will use the FrontRunner versus continuing to drive I-15.

RB in PA | 6:34 p.m. April 28, 2008

I am a former resident of West Jordan and moved to Pittsburgh in '03. I remember how many people complained about TRAX when it opened, said it was a waste of tax $, etc etc. I also remember standing next to those same people on opening day, waiting to board a crowded train!! I would give ANYTHING to have the TRAX system in Pittsburgh-the supposed 'best place to live in America' (not quite sure how they got that). You have no idea what it is like to only have a 2 lane road as your main commuter highway! Say thank you, quit the complaining and be grateful for leaders who have the ability to look to the future and plan for it-free rides or not!!

Stenar | 7:08 p.m. April 28, 2008

It was great riding to work, but when I went to go home, every family in Utah decided to ride the train as soon as Daddy got home from work. It was packed, the train was 25 minutes late because of so many people trying to squeeze on, and was 45 minutes late getting to my final destination. I'll be glad when all the kids and Mommies stay home.

Stenar | 7:14 p.m. April 28, 2008

The headline of this article should say "Thousands try out Frontrunner..." There were at least 1,000 on my train home alone, probably more. The train seats 500, but there were 2x as many people standing as sitting.

CougarKeith | 7:51 p.m. April 28, 2008

Quit Crying People, It Goes With The Territory of something new, "Don't Worry, Be Happy!" "It will all work out all right". Be positive and let the families ride, it's family home evening, what a great activity! It will all level out, UTA will expand the parking, and all will be just fine. Relax and enjoy your money saving commute to down town! Because of this Front Runner, we were able to afford a house and not have to deal with the traffic to work. With Frontrunner the commute is only 10 minutes difference we have figured than from down town to South Murray! Say good bye to Renting and hello to home ownership thanks to UTA!!! Thank you UTA!!!

Loved it | 7:56 p.m. April 28, 2008

It was fantastic riding along and watching go by the beautiful mountains. Was in awe at the orchards in bloom in Roy and looking into people backyards.

Major issues | 8:39 p.m. April 28, 2008

The train was an absolute "train wreck" today. On my way home (northbound), the train had to come to complete stops while it waited for a southbound train to pass and free up the main line. Each of these stops were at least five minutes long. That's ten or more minutes spent sitting and waiting. Add that to the already ridiculously slow speeds that frontrunner boasts between Bountiful and Salt Lake and I was left with an hour and a half commute today from Clearfield. I know it's early, but if these issues don't get fixed I know I will be back to bus or car and I'm sure so will many others as well. C'mon UTA, let's get this thing figured out.

Driving the Freeway | 8:52 p.m. April 28, 2008

Was it just me or did I-15 seem less crowded? It seemed so to me, I wonder if there are any official figures on this?

Anonymous | 9:57 p.m. April 28, 2008

I-15 was not less crowded for the early commuters.

SJ Bobkins | 10:26 p.m. April 28, 2008

No form of public transmit has ever made a profit. Trax will never do so neither will FrontRunner. Salt Lake City is having a tough time growing into a major city. The airport is the 20th busiest, yet has no major building plans, and no terminals have been added in 30 years. The zoo has painfully outgrown the meagerly small piece of land that has been home for 40+ years. To build a small soccer stadium put the entire county through a terrible ordeal of infighting.
Major cites add public transportation, build $500+ million stadiums and arenas which will never return a profit, WHY? Because it makes your home town a nicer place to live. Indianapolis will open a new $1 billion terminal, just to make the place a nicer place to fly in and out of, yet it will never be a hub. SLC's competitor airports in Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Denver, are light years a head of the poor, pitiful, SLC, yet no one really cares. It works, why fix it.
SLC will avoid making all the above mistakes because it's all about the bottom line, having nothing to do with quality of life, and that's sad.

Anonymous | 10:35 p.m. April 28, 2008

$7.25 per day. What a huge taxpayer subsidized bargain! I'm paying almost $15 per day just for gas, ignoring vehicle wear-n-tear, etc.

SJ Bobkins doesn't know what he is talking about. Some forms of public transit make a profit. Most don't because the bureaucrats (and the public) don't expect them to. They've decided that it is easier to tax everyone, rather than have the riders pay.

RE | 10:39 p.m. April 28, 2008

Yes I-15 was much lighter during the morning rush.

Crowds and Crowds | 10:51 p.m. April 28, 2008

I rode on the FrontRunner this afternoon and it was mostly mommies and their kiddies. I will be riding it again on Wednesday as I plan to spend the day in Ogden but after that if I decide that I want to go back i will pay the $1.75 and take the bus. I can't afford to spend the extra money to ride FrontRunner but it does make it possible for me to expand the area of which I am looking for a job.

Me | 11:55 p.m. April 28, 2008

I Don't know how they can call today a success. It took me 4 hours to get from 21st south back to my car at the Ogden Station. 4 hours, thats right, our train broke down they where not prepared for the crowds. The station host did not know anything. It was a major Joke. They should have realized how many people where going to ride it. I am very disappointed. I will try it again but will wait till the free for all is over...

Anonymous | 12:34 a.m. April 29, 2008

The trains were predictably filled with families in the evening. The trains were 35 minutes late (southbound) and the seating capacity was embarrassingly (for UTA) lacking and many excited potential customers unfortunately went home disappointed with no train ride. Frontrunner trains can reportedly be as many as ten cars long. The trains I saw had THREE cars. UTA should have known the crowds would be large during the free ride period. This shows either an astounding level of incompetence, or indifference toward their customers. Hopefully this is not an indicator of the way Frontrunner will be operated in the long run.

Lowell Line Rider | 1:47 a.m. May 1, 2008

As a commuter-rail rider in Boston, I am impressed with UTA on Frontrunner, trains on 30 minute headways, the busiest lines in Boston "Providence" and "Lowell" only have 30 minute headways durring rush-hours. UTA needs to add Sunday service though.

Jane Smith | 2:46 p.m. May 24, 2008

It is a very smooth ride. But I thought that it would go faster.

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