Deseret News | Commuters want better bus service

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Commuters want better bus service

No One of Consequence | 12:15 p.m. Oct. 31, 2008

**UTA does not know how much a new bus route in the area would cost, but a new bus line on Wasatch Boulevard costs about $1.1 million to operate annually, plus about $400,000 for every new bus...**

If this were a private transit company they would be running routes where they would make money. Happy riders would lead to income for the company. Instead UTA designs routes to make the local power-brokers happy, hence the current system moves people to and from downtown and the University of Utah. Happy legislators are necessary to keep the subsidies rolling in.

Meanwhile you cannot ride the UTA from the southwest part of the valley to anywhere in the southeast or northwest parts of the valley.

DSG | 12:17 p.m. Oct. 31, 2008

When UTA did their "redesign" and held public meetings, this lack of service in the southwest part of the valley was one thing I pointed out to their spokespeople. They, in turn pointed to large maps that showed "all the rountes" that ran into that area. But, if you looked at those routes, they consisted of lines that only ran in the morning and evening AND of a yet NON-EXISTENT Trax line running into Daybreak. Beyond that, bus service in the evenings essentially shuts down after 7:00 p.m. anywhere south of 4700 South and west of Redwood Road. The spokesman from UTA accused me of just wanting to argue, claimed that he had come to answer questions only, and turned his back on me. I'm not looking for 15 minute buses, or even 30 minute buses in these areas, but maybe some 1 hour buses with routes that cover more area than is covered now. But, UTA hasn't listened before, why start now?

Buy | 12:30 p.m. Oct. 31, 2008

How about you buy a car and quit expecting everything to revolve around where you decide to live.

Comments continue below

Hysterical!!! | 1:03 p.m. Oct. 31, 2008

You've got to be kidding, right?

People just don't move to Herriman if they don't have a car. Before the mad dash to live in Herriman in the last decade, there were, what, 6 people who lived in Herriman - and they each had their own tractor and a truck.

Besides, what kind of person who claims to have an "environmentally friendly conscience" works in downtown Salt Lake City and lives all the way out in Herriman? Talk about a sense of entitlement. We chose to have our McMansions out in the boonies, now we just want transit service like as if we lived in an urban area - you know, kinda like what we left behind when we moved here.

LOL

Tammi Diaz | 1:24 p.m. Oct. 31, 2008

UTA has good bus service in down Salt Lake City, in the Avenues and at the University of Utah with they Subsidies Students and Faculty discounts beyond what other Fare Pass Holders Pay in the amount $6.3 Million
each year. UTA has destroy the Bus System in the rest of Salt Lake County.

Through Mismanagement and Aggressive Elimination of Bus routes and Fare Increases UTA is Destroying the Bus System.

You probably should check | 1:24 p.m. Oct. 31, 2008

the bus routes when you move if you plan to use them.

C.B. | 1:26 p.m. Oct. 31, 2008

The VERY BEST thing to happen to UTA would be if these and other Mayors around the valley would become more watchful of UTA, especially at their board meetings. UTA exists, as far as I can tell to help the upper mgmt. build their "kingdom" - mainly financial. They have a lot of upper mgmt. that have ridiculous salaries.

Ever notice how UTA keeps running those ads on TV when they claim poverty? Lets face it, EVERYONE along the wasatch front KNOWS of UTA. Some ride it and some don't, but its not in relation to the amount of ads they put on TV. (kind of like Questar or Rocky Mtn. Power advertising on TV) You've got to wonder WHATS THE POINT?

Another point: even though fuel costs have been going down for the last 2 mos. UTA still initiated its "fuel surcharge" AGAIN on the 1st of October.
Those of us who ride the bus just call it the "bosses raise surcharge" which apparentally is EXACTLY what it is.

I hope the local elected politicians DO pay more attention to what UTA is doing, because up to now UTA Mtmt. basically CONTROLS its governing board!

splitme2 | 1:48 p.m. Oct. 31, 2008

They also did away with routes in the southeast part of the valley a few years ago when the Trax station in Sandy opened. So you can go early morning or late evening and nowhere in between.

KW | 2:32 p.m. Oct. 31, 2008

Just to mention things on the north end,

Walmart, Target, several big stores, and the library are on the same street in Centerville.

No buses stop there.

Jim | 3:12 p.m. Oct. 31, 2008

Like "C.B" said UTA is much more interested in the P.R. aspect of their business than they are in really delivering better service.

With an organization as large as UTA you can't expect to satisfy everyone, but I have been to several "public" meetings of UTA also, and all I see is a rubber stamp by their board of anything management wants to do. With all the rail lines they're adding I wonder down the road, how much more they will be asking from the taxpayers just to keep the things running. Despite the P.R. those trains get mighty expensive to run and maintain.

I don't think they should just keep trotting out new services if they can't deliver GOOD service on the existing ones.

DSG | 4:21 p.m. Oct. 31, 2008

To Buy: Simply buying a car in order to go places defeats the purpose of PUBLIC TRANSIT. Believe it or not, their are many people who can't afford a car and jobs aren't always available within walking distance. I have a car, but choose to ride the bus and my bike. I'm not asking UTA to revolve around where I live, but provide decent bus service equally to parts of the valley.

To: You should probably check...
I have lived in the same neighborhood for the last 30 years. It is the bus system that keeps changing, not me. What should I do? Move every time the bus system decides to reroute? Even if I did check routes before I moved and found a good location, what's to prevent UTA from changing the routes after I move?

Again, MOST people aren't asking for buses to run up and down EVERY street, but decent access to public transit in the Salt Lake Valley. As people move here and as the valley grows, UTA needs to expand with it.

to dsg | 5:07 p.m. Oct. 31, 2008

you're right, I ride the bus almost everyday and am continually frustrated by them re-timing or rerouting the routes. The other important point you bring up is their fares. Anyone who has ridden the bus much knows that there are a lot of folks on the bus who probably don't make a lot of money and when they raise the fares even to $2.25 they make it VERY rough for lower income people who would LIKE to contribute but they just keep raising the fares so some people may very well opt to just sit home and draw welfare, unemployment, or some other form of gov't assistance. There is a real hidden cost there that I don't think the UTA mgmt. cares much about. I am a professional and draw a decent salary so the .25c fare increase is not much to me, but to some folks it may "inspire" them to just stay home and get whatever assistance they can!

DSG | 8:55 p.m. Oct. 31, 2008

Just another thought...

Why is it that the Cache Valley can provide FREE public transit? Granted, it's not going absolutely everywhere in Cache Valley or even in Logan, but it gets a lot of people where they want or need to go. No wonder Cache Valley residents didn't opt in on the UTA service, a decent, not world class, transit system that anyone can ride for FREE. What little would it take to make their system world class if they operate for FREE now?

Bob G | 4:30 a.m. Nov. 2, 2008

The UTA and TRAX are not public transportation services that taxes are being collected for. This organization should be disbanded and sold to a private transportation company. UTA is a fraud and offers no services outside SLC and their only service is to bring residents outside SLC to SLC. Anyone that has lived in europe or the asian countries has seen public transportation as it should be, taking people where they need to go. All the taxes collected for public transportaion goes to SLC and the rest of the valley gets no service. The UTA cannot be relied on as public transportation for any other reason than to visit downtown SLC. All cities and counties should be considering to stop supporting UTA and develope private transportation that will serve the taxpayers. The UTA and TRAX system is defrauding tax payers of services and taxes. This system only services businesses in the downtown SLC area and not the users who need the services of public transportation. We need to repeal tax support for UTA and TRAX at every level and every city has the option to discontinue tax support and paying taxes for services not rendered. It is an incompetent system.

Jeff | 7:01 a.m. Nov. 2, 2008

I agree bus service should be improved. Once while my car was broken I was forced to take the bus for a while. Several times I was stuck for an hour in a blizzard because the buses didn't show up. Also, if you ask any of the drivers a question, they don't know a thing. There should be a way to get buses on their routes on snowy days.

UTA waste | 11:16 a.m. Nov. 2, 2008

UTA just needs to add yet another fuel surcharge next mont, even though the price of fuel is down. That would surely entice us all to ride their service from main street to main street. Question for UTA, have the surcharge costs been shuffled into your bosses bonuses? Because in service, I'm not seeing it.

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