The Utah Transit Authority is holding public meetings this week on several proposed route changes and reductions.
In connection with the start of service on the new Airport TRAX line in April UTA is proposing several route changes including eliminating routes in Salt Lake, Tooele, and Davis County. UTA spokesman Gerry Carpenter says he thinks for the most part these changes will be well received.
“We’ll have to see what we can do to try and accommodate those people if they come to us with concerns but ultimately we believe those resources can be better used to serve a greater number of people elsewhere,” Carpenter says.
Kim Hibbert manages the common areas for the Salt Lake International Center out by the airport. One of the proposed changes directly affects the businesses that he serves. He says while he understands there is only so much UTA can do, any input he can provide will be beneficial.
“It would be nice to have routes at least every hour from 7 am, 6 am to 8 pm but that’s not possible,” Hibbert says.
The comment period for the proposed changes ends on January 25th.
Service Additions and Alignment Changes in Salt Lake County:
Effective April 14, 2013, new bus service connecting the 1950 West North Temple TRAX station to 2200 West will begin (new Route 522). Northwest Salt Lake County bus routes, including Routes 517 and 218, will be re-routed due to the new TRAX line to the Airport. Bus Service to the Internation Center from the Airport TRAX line will also be implemented (new Route 551).
Service Reductions in Salt Lake County:
Effective April 14, 2013, Route 550 will be eliminated and replaced by the new, higher frequency TRAX service to the Airport. The following routes will be eliminated due to low ridership: Weekday - Routes 523 and 527. Saturday - Route 227. Sunday - Routes 6 and 240. In addition, Flex Route F547 will convert to 60 minutes frequency.
Service Reductions in Tooele County:
Eliminate off peak service to Grantsville due to low ridership: Flex Route F401.
Service Reductions in Davis/Weber County:
Route elimination due to low ridership: Flex Route F628.