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John Daley ReportingRecord highs, that's what we're seeing and we're not talking about the big national heat wave; instead, it's TRAX. It continues to hit new high marks for ridership.
The most obvious reason is they're looking to escape high gas prices. In fact, each month since gas prices spiked last fall, TRAX has set a new record.
Anyone riding TRAX lately has noticed they've got plenty of company.
Philip Kluss, TRAX Commuter: "Even off hours, there's always lots of people on the train. Seems like more and more every day."
Jodee Upshaw, TRAX Rider: "I know at times when I come at 6:00 in the morning, we're pretty packed with all the university people on the line also."
Trains are busy and riders we spoke with cite one key factor -- gas prices hitting three dollars a gallon.
Dee Anderson, TRAX Commuter: "That's one of the reasons, yeah, that's one of the reasons. It's a long commute, like 17 miles downtown, and it's a lot of wear and tear on the car."
Michael Dahl, TRAX Rider: "If you drive downtown every day, it gets kind of expensive."
The numbers tell the story. TRAX ridership has broken monthly records each month for the past year. Since gas prices spiked after Hurricane Katrina, the figures are even more impressive, with double digit growth each month but one. In January, there were nearly 58% more riders than a year earlier. And overall TRAX ridership is up 31% compared with a year ago.
Systemwide -- including TRAX, buses, van pools and paratranist -- ridership is up 10%. with 1.7 million more passengers than a year ago.
The increases come at a pivotal moment. County voters will decide on a 900 million dollar ballot question this fall to build four new TRAX lines. A new commuter rail line linking Salt Lake with Davis County is nearing completion and Utah County voters are set to vote this fall whether or not to raise sales taxes for another commuter line.
Some may balk at the new taxes, though TRAX riders are ready for more.
Philip Kluss, TRAX Rider: "Build more lines to go other places. Would be more convenient for more people."
If that big TRAX bond passes, construction on all four new lines would begin as soon as next year and be done by 2014. If not, those lines likely won't go in for many years.
