![]() ![]() However, their curiosity sparked a study that looks into the feasibility and incentives of removing fares from UTA service. Those are the questions that UTA, the Utah Department of Transportation, Wasatch Front Regional Council, Mountainland Association of Governments and a few other organizations, including the consulting firm Nelson/Nygaard, are seeking to figure out. With soaring gas prices, some Utahns are driving less, riding moreīut can permanently removing fares further increase ridership so that UTA serves as a viable alternative in decreasing traffic and traffic-related air quality woes along the Wasatch Front? And if so, is it worth the cost of removing fare collection?."I will say that we have seen - it's measurable but it's still kind of piecemeal - that when fares are zero, when there is no fare, the ridership has had a notable increase." "This issue is one that we have all focused on to a degree," said Andrew Gruber, executive director of the Wasatch Front Regional Council. ![]() ![]() For instance, UVX in Utah County has remained free because of federal funds the project received, while Salt Lake City leaders helped pay for transit passes for all Salt Lake City School District students and employees this school year. There are other incentives that have also waived fares for some riders. UTA has since posted stronger months as its ridership has steadily returned to 75% of pre-pandemic levels. It was, at the time, Utah Transit Authority’s best ridership month since the COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted the agency's service in March 2020. Join thousands already receiving our daily newsletter.Utah's largest transit agency viewed its one-month trial of free fare service in February as "very successful," raising ridership 16% from the previous month. “We want to preserve that, as well as build on it.” Newsletter “There’s a character about Springville that’s important to people,” Geddes said. We need this to be a hub with safe transit that’s not reliant only on people in cars,” said resident Kurtt Boucher.Ībove all else, planners hope to keep the feel of the city while making structural changes. “I want this to be a safe place where my kids won’t get run over by cars, that’s not next to a road with cars going 60 miles an hour. Cox moved to Springville in 2021.įarmington’s Station Park is an outdoor mall in Davis County that also includes living options and a commuter rail station.Īnother priority for parents and homeowners was creating a safe space around the station. “I love the old town vibe but you don’t see an area out here where people want to shop and move their family here like the Farmington station, which is what we want,” said Sue Cox. One priority for residents was building a center of town around the station, where friends and family could gather for entertainment, meals and shopping. At the top of the priority list for residents was safety, along with walking and biking connections to the station, affordable housing nearby for young families, disability accessibility and local transit access.Ĭoncerns included a lack of community areas, new gated communities surrounding the station, the location of the station, as well as the direction passengers will board the platform from, considering Provo station’s platform faces west. ![]()
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