Salt Lake Transit News Thread

[Future Mayor]

Originally Posted by ajiuO

So is this really happening?? I will pay 30$ a month just for trax.. I dont use the bus. Does it include front runner?

Yes it is really happening, and yes it includes Front Runner.

http://www.slcgov.com/transitpass

[slc801]

Originally Posted by ajiuO

So is this really happening?? I will pay 30$ a month just for trax.. I dont use the bus. Does it include front runner?

I called the city today to find out when and where I could purchase this pass. I was told that it is not going to start until February. The passes will become available sometime in January. The lady was vague about any type of dates because the only thing that she had heard besides what has been published in the news was a quick email that she was sent with little information.

[ajiuO]

That is freaking awesome... That will get me riding trax more for sure... I haven't gotten a transit pass for that price since the 90's and that was with a high school discount.

[CountyLemonade]

Originally Posted by ajiuO

I was brutally assaulted on a UTA bus once.. The driver didn't even stop to call the police... Then when I tried to hand him my money because I was holding a role of tissue paper over my face that some lady gave me to stop the bleeding.. He made me put it in the thing.. Then when I got down the steps he asked me if I was ok.. I said no, then he shut the door in my face and drove off.. I almost passed out a few times on the walk to my grandparents.. The hospital did call the cops.. My nose was broken and I still have s hard time breathing from one nostril..... They did nothing to the bus driver.. So I don't ride uta busses any more.. It took a lot to get me started on TRAX.

UTA is just lucky I was a dumb scared 18 year old at the time.. Or else I would have sued their asses off.

That is a horrendous experience. I'm incredibly sorry you had to experience that on a bus. But I've been riding the bus on a daily basis for years and have not once felt remotely unsafe or in danger. I encourage you to try the bus once more. I think it's important to recognize that it can—very, very rarely—happen with whatever mode of travel you're using. I've had some pretty traumatic moments doing something as mundane as crossing the street or driving down the road, but I don't want to let that stop me from exercising my right to do those things without fear.

[UTAZLoVer]

Yeah I take the bus every single day and I feel perfectly safe. Just a little cold this time of year

[ajiuO]

My mother works for the state. She texted me today and said that she got an email offering all full time state employees a 1 year Eco pass... That's kind of cool... If your a state employee.

[Hatman]

Happy Birthday Frontrunner South! (One day late, December 10th)
Because of the south extension, ridership is more than double what it used to be (13,000 something daily as compared to 6,000 on a good day). Soon, rumors have it, a second comet car will be added to certain consits. That is why you can see the extra comet cars being re-refurbished outside of the Warm Springs shops. Have I ever said how much I love those old cars?

Also, there haven't been hardly any auto-train accidents in Utah county as everyone was predicting. I can only remeber one in February, while accidents continued up north at the same sad rate. It makes me wonder if, despite the reputation, if Utah County drivers aren't so terrible after all...

[arkhitektor]

Originally Posted by Hatman

Happy Birthday Frontrunner South! (One day late, December 10th)
Because of the south extension, ridership is more than double what it used to be (13,000 something daily as compared to 6,000 on a good day). Soon, rumors have it, a second comet car will be added to certain consits. That is why you can see the extra comet cars being re-refurbished outside of the Warm Springs shops. Have I ever said how much I love those old cars?

Also, there haven't been hardly any auto-train accidents in Utah county as everyone was predicting. I can only remeber one in February, while accidents continued up north at the same sad rate. It makes me wonder if, despite the reputation, if Utah County drivers aren't so terrible after all...

One reason is that FrontRunner South has far fewer at-grade crossings than the north line does. There are a lot more bridges so there is less interaction between cars and tracks and less opportunity for accidents.

[H4vok]

New streetcar attracts a fraction of expected ridership

The federal government expected 3,000 people a day to ride the new Sugar House Streetcar when it opened, according to a statement it issued in 2010 to announce a $26 million grant for the project.

But the average during its opening week was just 781 riders daily — a mere 26 percent of what had been projected, according to Utah Transit Authority data requested by The Salt Lake Tribune.

The UTA and Salt Lake City offer several explanations why projections and reality are so far apart initially. They also say the numbers should turn around as numerous residential and commercial projects now underway near the line are completed.

Salt Lake City Transportation Director Robin Hutcheson said the application for the federal grant used a projection model that "took into account the upcoming development" the line was expected to attract in both her city and South Salt Lake before it actually opened. That model projected 3,000 riders a day at opening, and 4,000 a day by 2030...

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politic...-lake.html.csp

[Stenar]

I don't think they were expecting 3,000 riders the moment it opened.

In the coming months, there will be several hundred apartment units opening at the end of the line and others along the route.

Plus, it's been an especially cold winter, colder than usual.

Originally Posted by H4vok

New streetcar attracts a fraction of expected ridership

The federal government expected 3,000 people a day to ride the new Sugar House Streetcar when it opened, according to a statement it issued in 2010 to announce a $26 million grant for the project.

But the average during its opening week was just 781 riders daily — a mere 26 percent of what had been projected, according to Utah Transit Authority data requested by The Salt Lake Tribune.

The UTA and Salt Lake City offer several explanations why projections and reality are so far apart initially. They also say the numbers should turn around as numerous residential and commercial projects now underway near the line are completed.

Salt Lake City Transportation Director Robin Hutcheson said the application for the federal grant used a projection model that "took into account the upcoming development" the line was expected to attract in both her city and South Salt Lake before it actually opened. That model projected 3,000 riders a day at opening, and 4,000 a day by 2030...

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politic...-lake.html.csp

[brankrom]

I get the distinct impression that the Trib likes to point out the "failings" of UTA. UTA stories seem to get a lot of hit for their message boards. For now the S-Line IMO is a line to nowhere and the 20 minute headways and longer travel time than the #21 bus. Get some more development and an actual terminus closer to Highland and 2100 S and the park improvements completed and then the line is in business. Its a parallel line to an functioning bus route that already serves more businesses more frequently and faster than the streetcar. The s-line for now runs through a barren urban wasteland.

[SLC Projects]

S-line will be fine. And as Stenar stated there's a lot of new apartments in the area that have just opened or will be opening soon that will add a lot more people to the area.

[CountyLemonade]

Originally Posted by brankrom

I get the distinct impression that the Trib likes to point out the "failings" of UTA. UTA stories seem to get a lot of hit for their message boards. For now the S-Line IMO is a line to nowhere and the 20 minute headways and longer travel time than the #21 bus. Get some more development and an actual terminus closer to Highland and 2100 S and the park improvements completed and then the line is in business. Its a parallel line to an functioning bus route that already serves more businesses more frequently and faster than the streetcar. The s-line for now runs through a barren urban wasteland.

Yeah. These are more or less my feelings about it. The Trib definitely makes a much bigger deal about UTA's shortcomings, whereas you have national press and planning publications showering praise upon UTA for the virtually unparalleled speed and competence with which it constructed seventy miles of rail. But the Trib is getting desperate, so it's not to be unexpected.

[Palladio]

My personal thoughts on this was that the S-line was a great way to bring street car technology to the valley. Realistically, it goes from a man made destination of Central Pointe that only exists for the sake of transfers to another destination that is still quite a distance from the center of actual attraction. And it goes through the middle of nowhere.

I think UTA built it because it was shovel ready, ready to be funded and it was a way to show Salt Lake City what street cars would be like without having them tear through the center of main street, like they did with trax. This way it stays in the backyard until people are comfortable with it, at which point it'll be extended to where it will really start making a difference.

That being said, I live less than a mile away from it and I ride transit more than the average Joe. But I have still yet to find a reason to take it. It just doesn't go anywhere right now.

[Makid]

Not sure if anyone else saw this in the Tribune the other day:

Salt Lake City wants a transit system that works for everyone
Council, UTA plan $350,000 study on feasibility of master-plan goals.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politic...-lake.html.csp

Imagine this, Salt Lake City transit riders: a bus or train every 10 minutes at every stop; getting from point A to point B with a maximum of one transfer; and only a quarter mile from home or work to at least two transit routes.

Sound too good to be true?

The Salt Lake City Council thinks not and identified those items among its transit goals as it seeks to establish a "Transit Master Plan" that promotes a future of clean air, economic development and a lifestyle independent of cars.

None of that is possible, of course, without the Utah Transit Authority. And the agency is under no obligation to fulfill the city’s wish list.

"We know it won’t happen tomorrow," Council Chairman Kyle LaMalfa told UTA officials last week.

Nonetheless, the City Council wants UTA to know what it seeks as it moves toward a citywide "Transit Master Plan" that will identify future bus, streetcar and light rail routes.

[delts145]

UTA looking to improve and expand transit service

By Jason Lee, Deseret News

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/8...t-service.html

Transit-oriented development will also be a major point of focus, Allegra explained, “to get more residential and commercial growth closer to UTA’s transit stations.”


A UTA streetcar prepares to leave the Fairmont stop, 2216 S. McClelland St., as part of the new S-Line in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2013. (Matt Gade, Deseret News)

SALT LAKE CITY — After a historic period of rail expansion, the state’s largest public transportation agency will begin working on enhancing its customers’ riding experience. The Utah Transit Authority’s top executive said the agency is now targeting ways to make riding trains and buses more accessible to more residents along the Wasatch Front as well as providing a more enjoyable experience.

General Manager Michael Allegra said the major focus of the agency in 2014 will be operations and operational excellence, which includes service reliability, courteousness of employees who interact with the public and “all the attributes that make our system better and better.”

“(We want to establish) responsiveness to the customer, continued focus on safety and listening to riders and non riders — and trying to persuade them to become riders,” he said. “These are cultural changes and efforts to be more efficient and effective.”

Allegra noted that technology would be a major tool in the advancement of transit, including mobile apps that make it easier for riders to find travel information, as well as technology that makes paying fares much simpler, along with passenger information systems, social media and distance-based fares.

He said UTA will also make a concerted effort to incorporate more use of alternative fuel vehicles, including an all-electric bus that will be used on the University of Utah campus; compressed natural gas vehicles; as well as using solar and wind power to help reduce overall energy costs for the agency.

Transit-oriented development will also be a major point of focus, Allegra explained, “to get more residential and commercial growth closer to UTA’s transit stations.”

According to the Wasatch Front Regional Council website, hubs for the Wasatch Choice for 2040 Vision would be located "where regional destinations have grown, where economic activity has clustered, or in strategic locations that are headed in that direction. The vision suggests that these centers should expand to provide broadening choices for residents to live, work, shop and play."

The belief is that hubs should work in conjunction with the long-term growth plan, helping to provide opportunities for residents who want to live close to work, walk or bike to shop and have both convenient transit and road access...

read more...http://www.deseretnews.com/article/8...t-service.html

[slc801]

I just called Salt Lake to find out about the $360 transit pass. They said that it is being pushed back until the beginning of March...

[Makid]

UTA may create new airport-university TRAX line
Grant » UTA wins $2M to start work, but still needs financial partners.


http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politic...-trax.html.csp
By Lee Davidson

A new TRAX line may be coming soon that would directly connect — without transfers — the University of Utah, downtown Salt Lake City and the airport. It would use existing rails without the need of new construction, aside from some minor signal work.

The Utah Transit Authority has won $2 million toward that effort through a federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement grant.

"It’s a short-term operating grant" that would help run the line for up to three years, said UTA General Manger Michael Allegra.

He said the estimated operating cost is about $2 million a year. So UTA must come up with commitments for about another $4 million to allow running the line for at least the three years required by the grant before it could open.

The new grant "is a kick-off, starter fund we could use. But it’s not enough money to run it" for those three years, Allegra said. "So we’re looking for other funding partners," including perhaps the city, university, businesses or others that would benefit from the line.

Allegra said UTA has no projected or even hoped-for start date yet, and that depends on finding more financial partners. "Whenever the money comes, we’ll be able to start the software development" for signals, begin the training of operators and start soon afterward. He said UTA does not need to buy any more train cars to operate the line.

Allegra said UTA envisions retaining the current Green, Red and Blue lines, but adding the fourth yet unnamed line to connect "with direct service the three largest traffic generators in the valley — downtown, the university and the airport."

He added the new line will probably go only as far as the Stadium station at the university, and not to the end-of-the-line Medical Center station.

The new line would also increase frequency of service at Salt Lake City stations, he said. Now, the Green and Red lines are running every 15 minutes at those stations. Adding new-line service between the already scheduled trains would increase weekday service to every 7.5 minutes between the university and downtown; 7.5 minutes between the airport, downtown and the university; and 5 minutes within the central business district (where the Blue line also runs).

Allegra said the new line could also help better connect the FrontRunner commuter rail system with the university. Those who exit it in downtown Salt Lake City need to make at least one transfer on TRAX from the Green or Blue lines, or take the No. 2 bus for direct service to the university.

Allegra said many riders have asked for the direct airport-downtown-university connection.

"I think there’s a market and a thirst for making this connection. And anytime we get anybody out of a car and onto a train, it helps the air, the energy, the congestion," he said.

We have seen private companies donate $4 Million in July and January in the past to get people riding transit during bad air months, it shouldn't be hard to think of some situations that would allow for this service quickly.

Salt Lake should be able to use revenue forecasts along the area to assist with funding as well as projected property tax revenue increases from the service. The State could also show their commitment to clean air and provide the $2 Million a year that would be needed for the line.

That is why I say there have to be many options out there to get the line up and running rather quickly for such a low yearly price.

[stayinginformed]

Originally Posted by Makid

UTA may create new airport-university TRAX line
Grant » UTA wins $2M to start work, but still needs financial partners.


http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politic...-trax.html.csp
By Lee Davidson



We have seen private companies donate $4 Million in July and January in the past to get people riding transit during bad air months, it shouldn't be hard to think of some situations that would allow for this service quickly.

Salt Lake should be able to use revenue forecasts along the area to assist with funding as well as projected property tax revenue increases from the service. The State could also show their commitment to clean air and provide the $2 Million a year that would be needed for the line.

That is why I say there have to be many options out there to get the line up and running rather quickly for such a low yearly price.

The new line should go all the way to the end of the line. Most of the students and almost all of the University employees don't get off at the stadium station.

[Palladio]

Originally Posted by stayinginformed

The new line should go all the way to the end of the line. Most of the students and almost all of the University employees don't get off at the stadium station.

As a U student myself, I'd much rather see this go all the way to the end of the line. And with only 3 additional stops, I'm wondering why they wouldn't extend it. It seems in my mind much simpler to have it stop at the Medical Center instead of at Stadium.

I have a few ideas to why that might be.

One reason is probably that it needs a switch right before the final station to change to the oncoming side. Stadium has one of these switches as does the Medical Center station, but Ft. Douglas and South Campus don't.

Another is that maybe it costs more to drive it that much farther? While the horizontal distance is very short, the vertical distance is quite noticeable. I don't think this is a major reason since light rail is inherently so much cheaper to operate anyway.

My other thought is that maybe they want to stop it at stadium because of the number of trains needed to keep it running at frequency. I know for every extra few stations they need another train configuration to operate at 15 minute intervals. That's my only other thought as to why it might be the case.


Now that I think about it, I got interviewed a few months ago by a UTA employee with an iPad around the Trolley station on the red line as to where I was getting off. In retrospect, that was almost certainly for this project.