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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah transit officials say they are mulling changes to some of their fare structures, including an expansion of reduced-fare income eligibility and an end to zero-fare service for the Utah County bus rapid transit service, as they work to finalize service changes that could go into effect this summer.
Utah Transit Authority officials unveiled the proposed plan for its August schedule change day on Wednesday. Under the proposal, the agency would:
- Sunset the zero-fare structure for the Utah Valley Express (UVX) and charge $2.50 for all one-way rides like regular bus and light-rail service. It has had no fare since it debuted in 2018 largely because of a grant it received that required zero fare. Zero fares was extended late last year after it was slated to end in December.
- Remove the 20% discount FAREPAY Card users could get, per ride; moving, instead, to a capping system. The cap would mean riders would have to pay in one day or in a week.
- Increase the reduced fare program eligibility from 150% of the federal poverty level to 200%. That adjusts the income qualification from $22,590-$79,080 to $30,120-105,440, depending on household size ranging from one to eight.
Most of the changes aim to simplify reduced fare structures or make them more accessible, said Carl Arky, a spokesman for the agency.
UTA's FAREPAY is a program in which riders purchase a card and add money to it to pay for transit service. Their balance is deducted every time they tap onto a scanner to ride a bus, train or other transit service. Monica Howe, UTA's fares director, said the proposed cap system would take place on the "backend" of the UTA system.
For instance, a person who uses FAREPAY with a regular bus or TRAX fare structure would have a cap of $5 per day and $20 per week to ride. It means they would not be charged after tapping on twice in a day or 10 times during a week, something UTA would track when the user taps their card to pay on a bus or at a station.
The maximum is $10 per day and $40 per week for those who have premium service, which adds FrontRunner service. Those who qualify for reduced fare would be capped at $2 per day and $8 per week for regular service or $4 per day or $16 per week for premium service.
Meanwhile, the changes to the overall reduced fare structure are expected to help 12,000 people qualify for reduced fares. It's estimated over 50,000 people would have access to reduced fares with the change. Howe explained the change aims to expand efforts introduced a few years ago to assist frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"(The proposed change) is really a continuation of the original effort when COVID hit," she said.
As for UVX, the change in fare isn't expected to impact a large number of riders. Howe said 85-95% of its riders already have some sort of subsidized pass, either through BYU, Utah Valley University or their employer, but the agency is looking at ways to help out riders who may be impacted as it implements a fare for the first time.
There are some service changes also proposed for August. UTA may officially eliminate Route 606 in Ogden which has been suspended. Officials say very few people use it and its "main target destinations" have been relocated. Routes 39, 201 and 218 would remain on reduced service over ongoing staffing shortages, as well.
State transit officials are slated to hold a virtual public meeting about all of the changes on March 13. They are also collecting public comments on the matter through March 29, which can be submitted online.
If approved, some or all of the changes will go into effect on Aug. 18.
