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SALT LAKE CITY — After weeks of tabulation, it's official: Free Fare February was the busiest month for the Utah Transit Authority since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
The agency released its final report on the month Wednesday, determining that there were 105,992 average weekday riders across all forms of transportation. That's a 16% bump from the previous month and the most riders the transit system has had in a month since the pandemic led to a massive reduction in available public transit services.
The previous post-pandemic high was 101,143 average weekday riders, set in September 2021; however, both highs are still well-below pre-pandemic averages. There were over 160,000 average weekday riders in February 2020, according to UTA ridership data.
Still, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, who pushed for the free fare promotion, celebrated the spike in ridership.
"The numbers show what we've long believed: far more people will take transit when cost is not a barrier," she said on Twitter. "I'm so excited about the possibilities this presents for our air quality, and look forward to finding more ways to remove barriers to riding transit for all our residents."
The agency used various data points to gather the data, including a system that automatically counts people as they board a form of transportation. The agency had previously reported either 102,670 average weekday riders or 108,309 — the final number ended up in between.
Jay Fox, UTA's executive director, previously dubbed the month "very successful" based on preliminary numbers reported last month. UTA leaders still believe that with the findings in the new report.
"Free Fare February was a success," said Carlton Christensen, the chairman of UTA's board of trustees, in a statement Wednesday. "Transit is part of a healthier, vibrant quality of life in Utah. We encourage everyone to ride UTA instead of driving, you can help counter the negative effects of harmful pollution and reduce congestion on our roads and highways."
The month seemed to have its biggest effect on weekend travel. UTA reports there was a 58% jump in average Saturday riders across all platforms as compared to January. There was also a 33% jump in Sunday ridership.
The numbers show what we've long believed: far more people will take transit when cost is not a barrier. I'm so excited about the possibilities this presents for our air quality, and look forward to finding more ways to remove barriers to riding transit for all our residents pic.twitter.com/B6rPKRf7JJ
— Mayor Erin Mendenhall (@slcmayor) April 6, 2022
FrontRunner, UTA's commuter rail service, experienced one of the largest jumps among transit opportunities. Its average weekday ridership surged 36% from January, while its Saturday service tripled from 3,923 riders to 11,858 riders.
Ridership increased across almost all other forms of transportation. The light rail service TRAX increased 13% on weekdays, 75% on Saturdays and 36% on Sundays; regular bus service rose 19% on weekdays, 37% on Saturdays and 43% on Sundays.
UVX, the rapid bus transit system in Utah County, was the lone outlier. Its weekday ridership actually slipped 7% from January.
It's unclear if the rise in ridership continued into March, where fares were once again collected. Preliminary ridership information from March is expected to be released by next week.
