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Ed Yeates Reporting Bus service in Salt Lake and Davis Counties is about to change. It will be the biggest change in the history of the Utah Transit Authority.
While it may not satisfy everybody on every street, UTA says the changes generally will increase reliability and the frequency of bus service in a big way.
The new proposal is based on one of the most extensive research projects ever undertaken by a bus system, involving input from both long-time riders and those who only use mass transit occasionally.
A bus on every major east-west north-south corridor every 15 minutes, allowing passengers to step from trains to buses, and vice versa, without major delays. Also, there will be 30-minute service in neighborhoods with direct connection to 15-minute routes, along with more high-speed direct service with 20 minutes headways during peak travel times from park-and-ride lots. Even electronic pay systems on-board, and a whole lot more!
John Inglish, UTA General Manager: "We now have the ability to tell you when every bus, whether every bus is on time and where they are through the whole system."
Major thoroughfares, like 3500 South, would become what are called "bus rapid transit corridors," meaning buses would be able to actually synchronize lights at intersections. On-board devices would trigger lights to change to keep the bus on time.
A surprising 50 percent of those surveyed in UTA's research said they would ride mass transit, if the system as a whole were more usable.
Jeff Harris, UTA Deputy Chief: "They want reliability. They want us to be where we say we will be when we say we're going to be there."
UTA projects the changes could increase bus ridership by at least 12 percent over the next three years.
For dates and locations on the public hearings, and maps of the proposed changes, visit the links to the right.
