UTA Announces new FLEX routes

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Gerry Carpenter, 801-859-6095

Date: April 29, 2010 Press Release





New Flex Bus Routes To Begin Serving
Alpine, Herriman and Syracuse



On May 3, Utah Transit Authority will begin operating three new community “flex” routes in northern Utah County, southwest Salt Lake County, and west Weber/north Davis counties. The routes will bring new all-day service to areas that previously had no service or had only morning/evening commuter buses. Funding for the routes comes from Federal Transit Administration grants administered through the Utah Department of Transportation.



The new routes are called flex routes because they run a regularly scheduled route through the community, but also have the ability to deviate up to 3/4 mile off of the regular fixed route for just $1 more than standard fare. Customers can call to schedule a deviation up to two hours prior to the trip. The new routes operate using a smaller shuttle-style van, which is less expensive to operate than a full-size bus, but still has room to carry the potential number of riders on the routes.



“Flex routes are a great new option for these communities,” Mike Allegra, UTA acting general manager, said. “They will provide service to many who haven’t had access to public transportation in their neighborhood in the past.”



UTA currently operates flex routes in Brigham City, Draper, Sandy, Riverton, Tooele and Grantsville.



“The communities who already have flex routes have really embraced them,” Allegra said. “Our ridership growth in those areas shows this to be a great addition to UTA’s service offerings.”



Info on the new routes:



F547 – Herriman: connects origins and destinations in Herriman to the Riverton Hospital and Wal-Mart with transfers to the F518 – Riverton flex route


F628 – Syracuse/Hooper: connects origins and destinations in Syracuse and Hooper to the Roy and Clearfield FrontRunner stations


F868 – American Fork/Alpine: connects to origins and destinations in American Fork and Alpine, including the American Fork Hospital, LDS temple, Lone Peak High School and the American Fork park & ride lot


For more information, go to www.rideuta.com.





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Established in 1970, UTA has become a multi-modal transportation leader that is 100 percent accessible with 69 light rail vehicles, 35 commuter rail cars and more than 600 buses. UTA’s TRAX light rail system is currently averaging more than 40,000 riders a day along its 15-mile Salt Lake-Sandy line and the 4-mile University Line. UTA is an ISO 14001:2004 9001:2000 certified agency. During the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, UTA’s transit system was declared a great success on the international scene - carrying more than four million Olympic riders.



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