Transit Trip Report

Yesterday I had a chance to get out and spend the day riding transit which I have not had the opportunity to do in some time. My trip including Front Runner, plus a host of bus routes including one of the new flex routes that started running last month.

My trip started off on Front Runner. Since I have not had the opportunity to do so I decided to ride in one of the former NJ Transit Comet I cars.



While I still prefer the Bombardier cars, the Comet car rode just fine. I do prefer the cloth seats in the Bombardier cars as apposed to the vinyl in the Comet cars, but otherwise they're passable.

Before leaving Central Station I realized I forgot my pens however, being there is no place near the station to get any I decided to stop somewhere along my trip. I got off at Roy to catch the new 626. Since I had some time I rode the 604 over to 1900 West to see if I could find a pen but had not luck. I then walked back to the station and encountered this very pedestrian friendly area (yes that is sarcasm):



Traffic was fierce on 4000 South but I made it to the station in plenty of time to catch the little bus.

The 626 travels the extreme western end of civilization through Hooper then cuts through some residential areas. I will have a post upcoming talking about this route specifically for right now all I will say is that this routes days are numbered when the Federal funding runs out.



Next I rode the 470 up to 1900 West and 5600 South where I was able to find some pens and get some water for my walk up the Ogden River Trail. After a few minutes another 470 came along and I took it up to Washington and 22nd Street then walked up to the Ogden River Trail.

Following the Ogden River Trail I too a ride on the 612 and ate lunch at the Old China Buffet at Riverdale and Washington (bad experience) then took rode another 612 and 470 down to Bountiful. I walked around Bountiful's downtown area (yes another posting about that coming soon) then caught another 470 toward downtown Salt Lake.

However, the 470 with a 2007 Gillig Advantage BRT started to overheat and we finally came to a stop at 2600 South and Main where we had to wait for the following bus to come pick us up. I my 12 years of riding UTA this is the first time I have ever had a bus break down that I was riding.

The last time I was on the a bus that broke down was down in Miami when I was there for Railvolution and maybe once living in Spokane. In Los Angeles however, broken down buses were a way of life especially when they were dealing with 30+ year old buses but even the newest ones broke down frequently because of poor maintenance.



After the next bus came along we were once again on our way to Downtown. Once downtown I caught a 550 out to North Temple and 1950 West. Our bus was a 2007 Gillig Advantage BRT but in suburban configuration with no rear door. I had no idea that UTA had even purchased any of these.

I got off at North Temple and 1950 West which ended my day of transit riding.

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.





###





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.



Follow UTA on Twitter:@RideUTA