Deseret News | UTA looks to cut $6.5 million from 2010 budget

Reader comments
UTA looks to cut $6.5 million from 2010 budget

Homer S. | 5:31 p.m. Oct. 14, 2009

How about Inglish and his cronies give up all their perks? I'm sure he can buy his own gas and purchase his own truck with his 250k salary.

no2taxes | 8:34 a.m. Oct. 15, 2009

UTA should be expanding its routes and hours of operation, instead of threaten to cut service. It’s just an amazing that the last bus out of downtown Salt Lake City on a weekend nights is 11:30pm and 6:30pm on Sunday. Ever notice that they have no problem expanding its service hours on Conference Weekend.

The state should take the money from the federal funded DUI checkpoints and put it toward running busses later at night. But then again, DUI check point’s raises money. I know it is really necessary to having 40 police working a checkpoint with a $500,000 mobile command center in Bountiful or Centerville since we have such a high number of drunks.

Anonymous | 10:08 a.m. Oct. 15, 2009

I have several ideas: Get rid of Inglish and his cronies and bring in someone who knows and understands the need for Transit Bus/TRAX Service. Expand the Service so that the public can get to a bus stop without walking several miles; no more "Extra" Service for LDS Conference goers; they can either walk to Conference or stay in their Motel/Hotel Rooms and watch Conference on tv. Lower the price for a Monthly Bus for Seniors and Persons with disabilities. If the Transit drivers (Bus/TRAX) ever walk off their jobs or go on strike, they have my full support. Why can't Inglish share his wealth with the Transit drivers?

Comments continue below

Evanne TC | 10:38 a.m. Oct. 15, 2009

it would be nice o see busses not just later at night but,holidays and sundays. what about people wanting to go see family or friends on thanksgiving or christmas? 4th of july you can get to the fireworks but since holiday runs quit at 6pm you cannot get home from fireworks. (examples of uta logic)
i would think holidays is when people would probably love to go do what those with cars get to do, like visiting family and friends. instead they sit home wishing for bus service that day. i have also noticed on 4th south and 9th west area there are NO busses anymore on sunday. so, if this a day to do persoal errands or anything out of the house forget it. utah transit authority aint taking you unless you walk up town or over to north temple. goodluck to the old or handicap.
jen sieleg representative in this area says her goal is "transportation" for her district yet she will not comment. do these people even ride the bus? EVER? uta says they have seen no need for expanded runs on sundays or holidays. most of them do not ride the bus by the way.

Anonymous | 11:59 a.m. Oct. 15, 2009

EXPAND THE TRANSIT SYSTEM!! MORE SERVICES FOR THE DISABLED AND HANDICAP. WE NEED THE TRANSITS TO RUN ON SUNDAYS AND HOLIDAYS.

"CORPORATE PEOPLE" DON'T RIDE THE BUS AND DON'T WORRY ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE'S NEEDS AND WANTS TO GO SIGHTSEEING ON A NON-WORK DAY!

@Anonymous | 12:52 p.m. Oct. 15, 2009

I beg your pardon, but "corporate people" ride the bus and trains every day. Try getting on a bus coming downtown between 6 and 8 AM and tell me that there are no "corporate people" on the bus.

Zadruga Guy | 1:22 p.m. Oct. 15, 2009

Few people want to ride public transit after midnight. That is while there is little service that late (other than a few Trax runs on Friday and Saturday night). MANY people want to ride Trax on Conference Weekend. That is why service is expanded.

Taxis operate 24/7/365. So no one is never without transit options. You can always get from where you are to where you want to be, anytime you want to go. Therefore, UTA is doing exactly the right thing by focusing its limited resources on scheduling service for when and where it will be most needed, and NOT scheduling it when and where it is least needed.

Raise Fares | 2:54 p.m. Oct. 15, 2009

If the news article was complete, it appears that UTA didn't consider raising fares.

It's time that UTA get off the dole and charge the transit riding public what it really costs to provide the service. If it costs more to provide service on holidays or after dark, let the fares reflect that added cost.

Same with Trax. Let the fares reflect the increased cost of rail over bus service and let the public decide whether the "upscale" mode of service is worth it.

It's immoral for UTA to rely on sales tax, the most regressive of taxes, to provide subsidized transportation to upper and middle class passengers who can afford to pay the full cost of providing the service.

Got to live in real world | 6:30 p.m. Oct. 15, 2009

In many of the messages above, there are cries to increase service. Increasing service costs money... where is it going to come from? It looks like UTA is doing the responsible thing and seeking to balance their budget like everyone else in these tough times.

To "Raise Fares | 2:54 p.m. Oct. 15, 2009"...

If you want public transit riders to pay the full cost of each transit ride, you also need motorists to pay the full cost for use of the roads. Any tolls are unpopular - especially those based on mileage.

Also TRAX is the most efficient service that UTA offers. Due to its high ridership, it has a higher farebox recovery than any of UTA's other services - including UTA's busses. More than 40% of TRAX's costs are covered through fares. Busses have a lower farebox recovery (many commuter busses have great ridership, but many fixed routes don't and lead to lower farebox recovery).

Also, paratransit is a huge financial drain to UTA ($35 cost per trip, while riders pay only $2). UTA is smart to encourage paratransit riders to used fixed routes by offering free fares to paratransit riders on fixed routes.

TRAX & General Conference | 6:53 p.m. Oct. 15, 2009

UTA should provide more trains and train cars for all major events - LDS General Conference, U of U Football and Basketball games, Jazz games, First Night, etc.

Not only is it necessary to have sufficient capacity for the increase in riders, such events actually improve UTA's bottom line. Some trains during these events actually are "money making trains" - where there are enought fare paying passengers that UTA has received more money from those passeners than the cost of operating that train.

UTA should not discriminate against certain groups (such as the LDS Church) just because they are a church. UTA does the right thing by adjusting its service and capacity to match public events - regardless of who is sponsoring them. If another religious, civic or special interest group had a major event expected to draw a large crowd, you can expect that UTA would accomodate the expected increase in passengers. That just makes common sense.

And UTA actually provides more trains and extra cars for U Football and First Night than they do for a single LDS Conference session. Why? Because there are more riders, and UTA plans their capacity based on the anticipated ridership.

@Got to live in real world | 3:34 a.m. Oct. 16, 2009

"If you want public transit riders to pay the full cost of each transit ride, you also need motorists to pay the full cost for use of the roads." They already do. Federal gasoline and excise taxes, paid by motorists, also pay for the Federal public transit subsidies, which is blatantly unfair. The fact is that if public transit charged what it actually costs to provide the service, absolutely no one would use it. No one. If people don't value a service enough to pay for the service, why provide it?

"Also TRAX is the most efficient service that UTA offers. Due to its high ridership, it has a higher farebox recovery than any of UTA's other services - including UTA's busses. More than 40% of TRAX's costs are covered through fares." That's irrelevant - it still loses money. The losses are made up by sales taxes which have a disproportionate impact on the poor people who pay them.

TRAX A Good Decision | 4:58 a.m. Oct. 16, 2009

It is true - rail is significantly cheaper per passenger than bus when there are enough passengers. You can add additional cars to trains as capacity and demand increases (with busses you have to add not only a bus, but a driver too - and drivers are the most expensive asset in any transit system). A single rail car generally can cary as much as two busses combined. A four car TRAX train can carry 8 busses worth of passengers.

TRAX has the 4th highest ridership per mile when ranked against all other light rail systems in the United States. That is part of what makes TRAX so efficient and cost effective.

Congratulations and thank you to all Utahns who have had the vision to help UTA build, maintain and expand such a successful light rail system.

Gas Taxes fall WAY SHORT | 3:44 p.m. Oct. 16, 2009

To "@Got to live in real world | 3:34 a.m. Oct. 16, 2009"...

You forget that not everyone owns a car, yet they also pay the taxes to maintain the roads. Yes, everyone benefits from roads - as everyone uses goods and services transported on them.

Likewise, everyone who uses I-15 in Salt Lake County benefits from TRAX - even if they don't ride it. TRAX removes a full lane of traffic from the freeway during rush hour. Imagine how much worse rush hour would be without TRAX.

If you want public transit riders to pay the full unsubsidized fare, than it is only fare to charge motorists directly for their use of the roads. A mileage based use fee that has been discussed by the Federal government would be the only fair way to do that - although extremely unpopular.

Roads are one of the largest expenses of goverments, and most are used for free. Many use them at a disproportionate rate to others.

While some gas tax revenue is transferred to public transit, that is more than made up from sales tax, property tax and other sources. Way more is spent on roads than collected in gas taxes.

To @Got to live in real world | 3:57 p.m. Oct. 16, 2009

If you charged motorists for their actual individual cost of use of our roads per mile, we would have a lot less cars on the road.

Eliminate gas taxes and government subsidies of roads. Charge a mileage based user fee. Those who use the roads most would pay their fair share.

Just imagine the immediate reduction in congestion and cost savings as less multi-billion dollar freeways have to be built and expanded. People would change their lives to live closer to where they work. People would be healthier as they walk and bike more and enjoy the cleaner air.

And in such an environment you could charge the full unsubsidized fare for public tranportation and have it succeed. With more riders, the system would have a lower cost per rider - particularly if smart growth is encouraged along major transit corridors (like rail).

But wait - we live where the car is king - and that never will happen. But as long as roads are subsidized by taxpayers in a manner that is not directly tied to their use, public transportation will also have to be subsidized. Gas taxes come nowhere close to covering the true cost of building and maintaining roads.

@Got to live in real world | 2:12 a.m. Oct. 19, 2009

It costs 2-3 times as much to transport someone via rail than by bus. Buses share the same infrastructure with cars, trucks, and emergency vehicles. Passenger rail requires a separate, dedicated infrastructure which usually isn't shared with freight rail, which is the only form of rail that makes economic sense.

People cannot live close to where they work because urban planning and zoning won't allow that. That's why so many so many development fads (not-so-smart-growth, transit oriented development) are frauds - they do nothing to provide real jobs close to where people live.

"Likewise, everyone who uses I-15 in Salt Lake County benefits from TRAX - even if they don't ride it." - That's like saying Lagoon should be subsidized because it keeps people away from Sugarhouse Park. Trax really is nothing more than an amusement park ride. Like amusement park rides, it takes people from where they don't live to where they don't want to go. A fantasy world, like not-so-smart-growth and TOD.

Marginal service | 4:22 a.m. Oct. 19, 2009

At best the UTA and TRAX have been very marginal in providing any public transportation. Then to complain that $177 million dollars a year plus bonds is not enough to gouge Utahans out of is also ludicrous.

Trim the budget by starting at the top and sever the hold and profiteering Salt Lake City has on its operations. Instead of SLC using it for a profit making system make it an independent state controlled actual cost to run system. Take profit making out of the equation.

For as long as UTA and TRAX have been in operation it has never been a reliable source of transportation to meet the needs of public transportation. When this was an issue that people could vote on it was predictable what the outcome would be, a never ending money pit. And it keeps digging itself deeper in the hole wanting tax payers to bail out this fraudulent service.

Good Ole" Boy | 10:12 a.m. Oct. 19, 2009

It looks like UTA will have to cut millions from its advertising. Gee, no more cozying up by the KSL's, KTVX's, KUTV's and Fox Local News and all the gifts "of appreciation" the UTA Administrators would often get for their advertising. What a shame.

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