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Alex Cabrero reportingJudging by how many people have been riding FrontRunner, Utah Transit Authority's (UTA) new train is a big success. But just how much will riding the train save you in time and in fuel costs?
We rode the train today and yesterday, timing it from its farthest point in Ogden to the Intermodal Hub in Salt Lake. At the same time, we drove in a car to see which one is faster. We also compared the price of a round-trip FrontRunner ticket to what you would pay for gas.
On its first day, from Ogden to Salt Lake, we took the 8:08 train. It took us an hour and five minutes, but it was the first day and there were lots of people. This morning we took the 7:38 train and arrived in 58 minutes.
Both days, driving, even with traffic, was faster. The first day took 40 minutes, which was 38 percent quicker; and it took 44 minutes on day two, which was 24 percent faster.
But what about fuel costs? With gas prices so high these days, will a FrontRunner ticket actually save you money? A roundtrip FrontRunner ticket between Ogden and Salt Lake will cost you $10. In your car, that same roundtrip is 74 miles, and with today's average gas price in Utah at $3.45 a gallon, we just plugged in the numbers. Depending on your miles per gallon, the fuel cost alone can be either better or worse than FrontRunner. The break-even point is about 25 miles per gallon.
However, when you look at a monthly FrontRunner pass, at $145, then it's much cheaper to take the train. Based on a 20-day work month, a car getting 15 miles per gallon will cost $340 in fuel alone, $170 for a car getting 30 miles per gallon.
Using FrontRunner's monthly pass, compared to fuel alone in those same cars, you'd save $195 a month in the car getting 15 miles per gallon, $25 a month in the car getting 30 miles per gallon.
So, in the long run, FrontRunner is cheaper as compared to fuel prices alone, but it isn't necessarily faster. Of course, an accident on I-15 can make taking FrontRunner the quicker option.
Some of the people we spoke with, though, say you can't put a price on helping the environment or not having to constantly push your brakes in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
