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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Transit Authority officials say they don't expect to have normal ski bus service again this winter after driver shortages forced the agency to cut its seasonal service in half last winter. However, they are confident they have found a solution that will improve service.
Carlton Christensen, chairman of the agency's board of trustees, told members of the Utah Legislature's Transportation Interim Committee Wednesday that even with new hirees, there are some regulations that the agency may not be able to clear in time for the season. Because of that, he said UTA began meeting with Cottonwood Canyon ski resorts and other entities in April to hash out a better plan for the upcoming season.
Some of the conversations have focused on ways to get employees up the canyons without the traditional bus service, since they account for about half of ridership. A shuttle for them would open up more bus seats for skiers and snowboarders. UTA is also working with Salt Lake County and Visit Salt Lake on bringing back a shuttle service that will help hotel guests within the Salt Lake Valley reach the county's mountain resorts.
Meanwhile, UTA plans to use larger buses that would add even more ridership capacity than in the previous ski season, and operate some "surge" services at peak times, depending on driver availability, according to Christensen.
"We've looked at a number of issues and feel like we'll be in a much better position for this season," he said, speaking to the committee Wednesday. "All these changes we look at as a one-year solution. Our anticipation is that in the 2024-25 season, we would restore something reflective (of) our prior level of service."
It was about this time last year that UTA officials realized they would have to trim some ski bus service as it struggled to find enough drivers to cover regular service on top of ski bus service, Christensen said. The agency ended up with a gap of about 85 drivers across the Salt Lake, Davis and Weber county service areas by late September, when the agency eventually announced the cuts.
Despite these cuts, UTA Executive Director Jay Fox said it was able to hold onto 86% of its ridership levels throughout the season, as skiers and snowboarders took advantage of record snowfall.
Salt Lake County officials eventually partnered with UTA, Visit Salt Lake and the county's ski resorts to offer an emergency ski bus service for Big and Little Cottonwood canyons because of the high demand. The service launched in January and ultimately brought in a little more than 9,000 riders over the span of 12 weekends.
UTA's employee shortage prompted it to put a "tremendous amount of effort" into workforce strategy as it tries to reverse the program, focusing on employee outreach, better compensation packages and improved job training, Fox said.
As a result, it received about 2,400 operator or maintenance applications this year, a significant increase from the 236 applications it received between January and August last year.
The agency also renegotiated its collective bargaining agreement with existing employees this year, Fox added. The deal was made in an effort to improve employee retention, as it looks to have enough drivers to deliver ski bus service.
While UTA anticipates having normal service by the fall of 2024, it is in line to receive another boost after that.
The Utah Department of Transportation, which oversees UTA, announced last month that it will move forward with a plan to enhance bus service in Little Cottonwood Canyon by the fall of 2025. It's the first phase of a three-part system that ends with the controversial gondola project.
