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SALT LAKE CITY -- The new TRAX service to Daybreak isn't making everyone happy in the southwest portion of the Salt Lake Valley. Some are complaining there are not more bus routes, and there are safety concerns.
Ben Fox has been riding a UTA express bus from the Herriman/Riverton area to his downtown Salt Lake City job for three years. But with the daybreak TRAX line opening, many bus routes were cut and Fox's coach express bus is now a smaller city bus. This forces him to make a decision between a longer, uncomfortable city bus ride, or an even longer TRAX trip.
I just wonder what is going to happen if one of these bus drivers gets into an accident with 30 people standing up on a city bus, holding onto little handrails, going 70 miles per hour down the freeway.
–- Ben Fox
"Mass transportation is all about saving the environment and hoping people car pool," he said. "I now have to go buy a car which I don't have right now, drive it to TRAX and double my commute time."
Other commuters complained the first day the new TRAX line opened with similar stories about a suddenly inconvenient commute.
"I'd either take the 3 bus or the number 6 but, now I'm having to take the number 6 bus. I missed that so I drove to 13th south," said Colleen O'Hara, who rides the buses in Salt Lake City.
But for Fox, there is also a safety issue involved. He says he's among a group who has to stand now, while the much smaller bus travels on I-15.
"I just wonder what is going to happen if one of these bus drivers gets into an accident with 30 people standing up on a city bus, holding onto little handrails, going 70 miles per hour down the freeway," he said.
The folks at UTA are aware of the complaints. They said that a period of adjustment is normal, and that there are thousands more people who benefit from the change. They are also thinking about safety.
"Certainly safety is a concern," said UTA spokesperson Gerry Carpenter. "We'd have to take a look at the ridership numbers and get the reports in to see how many people really are standing and in a condition they feel is unsafe, and attempt to make adjustments accordingly."
Carpenter said that with a tight budget, they serve as many people as they can with limited resources. He said the agency is open to reviewing the routes again for both safety and convenience, and based on the feedback they get from commuters.
Story written with contributions from [Randall Jepessen](<mailto: rjeppesen@ksl.com>) and [Rich Piatt](<mailto: rpiatt@ksl.com>)
