Salt Lake Transit News Thread

[Hatman]

Originally Posted by ThePusherMan

How long until this is up and running? I used BRT in Mexico City and in Sydney so I have seen first hand how much good these things can do if the community embraces them. Fingers crossed it spreads like wild fire.

Construction is taking more time than originally planned... It should be done by spring 2019. It's 30-ish percent complete right now, but work has yet to start on some of the most critical areas (like University Avenue in Provo). So fingers crossed that it can be completed by then.
If BRT does not spread like wildfire up and down the Wasatch Front, it won't be UTA's fault. They've really gone all-in on this project to make it good in every way they could. It really will be one of the most amazing bus lines in the country, hopefully on par with the others you've ridden abroad. Either way, we should all be very, very excited for it to finally open.

[Hatman]

Originally Posted by EPdesign

I wish the green line went All the way out to Magna. Just a wish...but for reals.

There's been a few rumblings here and there of extensions - but not in any immediate plans. What I hope happens is that West Valley looks at the Provo-Orem line, then to their half-hearted MAX line, then back again at the Provo-Orem line... And then they complain in a jealous rage that they want a real BRT system too. And then the 35M route will finally be upgraded to a true BRT route for its entire length, instead of the branded-bus route it currently is.

[bob rulz]

What makes the Provo-Orem line different from the MAX line? What makes the MAX line so poor as a BRT in your opinion? I'm curious, having only ridden MAX 2 or 3 times and having no bearing of how it compares to other BRT.

[jubguy3]

Originally Posted by bob rulz

What makes the Provo-Orem line different from the MAX line? What makes the MAX line so poor as a BRT in your opinion? I'm curious, having only ridden MAX 2 or 3 times and having no bearing of how it compares to other BRT.

Its only a dedicated BRT for about a mile. It runs in the automobile traffic lanes for the rest of the trip. It also has a much lower frequency / capacity.

[Hatman]

What Jubguy said. It's really more of an 'express bus' that copies an existing route (Route 35) and skips all but the most important stops. The buses are cool and unique, and I am appreciative of the dedicated lanes that it already has, but I object to calling it BRT.

I would very much like to see more express buses like MAX along other existing local bus routes. I think the MAX branding would be perfect for the 'bus plus' concept, where buses have better frequency, fewer stops, more express schedules, better connections, and fancier shelters (with ticket vending machines, electronic message signs, shade canopy/shelter, etc). There are so many routes that are under-served by local bus routes but where a full-fledged BRT route would be overkill - and these are the places where a bus-plus system should go. Call it MAX, give it it's own network map (BRT's should be included on the rail map, IMO) and build up a good brand for it. But don't muddle express buses or bus-plus routes with true BRT. The public is confused enough as to what true BRT is and can be.

3500 South MAX: (Source)


Provo-Orem BRT Station:

And bus:

[Liberty Wellsian]

Originally Posted by bob rulz

What makes the Provo-Orem line different from the MAX line? What makes the MAX line so poor as a BRT in your opinion? I'm curious, having only ridden MAX 2 or 3 times and having no bearing of how it compares to other BRT.

Despite a lack of rail the provo -Orem BRT will have more in common with the University Trax line than it will with the 35max. It's not a perfect comparison but it is much better than the max.

When I first heard about the p/o brt I thought "Here we go again. UTA is going to embarass itself as it did with the "brt" on 35th." Boy was I wrong. Not only is this line going to be awesome but it is well placed. It connects FrontRunner, 2 universities, the 2 largest cities in UC, a mall, a research park. It is going to be a huge success. No doubt

[ajiuO]

Originally Posted by Liberty Wellsian

You don't have a direct line between the airport and SLcentral. Why not have the yellow line continue to the airport instead of the black?

Because the black line would connect the U to much more of downtown. Also I think the people staying at the U would be much more likely to go to the airport then greyhound and Amtrak combined.

I actually think Amtrak and Greyhound should be moved to the north temple Guadalupe station. There is a lot of vacant land on the west side of the tracks... That should become the hub, then the front runner stop at the current hub could be eliminated.

[Liberty Wellsian]

Originally Posted by ajiuO

Because the black line would connect the U to much more of downtown. Also I think the people staying at the U would be much more likely to go to the airport then greyhound and Amtrak combined.

I actually think Amtrak and Greyhound should be moved to the north temple Guadalupe station. There is a lot of vacant land on the west side of the tracks... That should become the hub, then the front runner stop at the current hub could be eliminated.

I was more thinking about the 13 UTA bus routes that stop at the central station. If I get on a bus in south salt lake or the Avenues how do I get to the airport?

[ajiuO]

Originally Posted by Liberty Wellsian

I was more thinking about the 13 UTA bus routes that stop at the central station. If I get on a bus in south salt lake or the Avenues how do I get to the airport?

As far as the Avs go. I’m not sure why anyone would go all the way to central station. You can get off the bus like 1 block from either City Center or Temple Square Station. Depending on the rout. I don’t think the green line should change, other then being extended to magna and perhaps looping to the airport at some point... I do think a UofU-Airport line should be the first thing added. The tracks are already there... I doubt black would be the first color choice though. I think orange, yellow, and purple will all be used before black.

[bob rulz]

Black would almost definitely be the next color used. They already used a temporary black line designation during the construction.

[jubguy3]

Originally Posted by ajiuO

I doubt black would be the first color choice though. I think orange, yellow, and purple will all be used before black.

Finally, a Believer...

[Makid]

The Q1 2017 ridership reports are out:

http://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Documents/Ridership/2017-q1-ridership-APTA.pdf

Below are the highlights:

Bus: 73.5K average daily, down 1.64% (73.5K is correct, not the 160.5K as shown on the report).
Trax: 62.4K average daily, down 0.57%
FrontRunner: 17.6K average daily, up 8.53%

Total: 162.1K average daily, down 0.41%

The numbers are year over year, Q1 over Q1, 2017 over 2016.

The biggest point of the above is that Frontrunner has tied its best quarterly performance of Q4 2015. It is also the first Q4 to Q1 growth since Q1 2014.

This is great as Q4 is generally the highest ridership time for UTA.

I do think it will be nice to see if this trend continues. Historically, Q2 has lower ridership than Q1. Q3 is when ridership increases again.

We should be nearing a tipping point towards gradual increases as the decreases are starting to get smaller or going positive again (Trax/Frontrunner).

Bus service is stuck in a rut of sorts and has only a few ways towards increased ridership: Tax increase for service, Projects over time such as Provo/Orem BRT (1 project every 5 to 7 years), or a larger scale realignment to focus on higher density and higher propensity for ridership (this option is a non-starter due to potential service losses in many areas).

[bob rulz]

Of course a lot of it is a concept, but I understand that UTA has to focus on other areas as well, but I think a lot could be done to increase bus ridership even within the city and in areas shortly outside by minor re-routing, better bus shelters, and more frequent within-city service.

Salt Lake has an impressive train system for a city its size, but the bus system needs some serious work. I was looking at the Salt Lake City transit master plan the other day and there's a lot of really great ideas in there. I was impressed with its depth and overall scope of the plan. I hope that UTA is also serious about a lot of what is in there. I understand that UTA has a lot of other cities to focus on, but some improvements could be made without hurting connectivity to other cities (and in fact, it could improve this connectivity in some instances). But what seems most important is more high-frequency bus routes, later service, and better bus shelters. I hope UTA focuses on that before new routes.

[asies1981]

Biskupski selects an avid transit user and advocate for the board seat.

[bob rulz]

A smart, rationally-driven transit-oriented decision by Mayor Biskupski? Say it ain't so!

[Liberty Wellsian]

Small thing but at the trolley square Trax station the view of the crosswalk signals are obstructed by the fancy power pole(official terminology). Maybe install a pair of relay signals in the center of the crosswalk?

[Cirrus]

Fun stuff. Here's the source. Here's Denver and other cities.

[jubguy3]

I don't know why they put the old articulated buses on it. I know it looks cooler but they were phased out in like 2007

[ajiuO]

What ever happened with the S line phase II? I remember hearing about people arguing if it should go down 11th east or not... they ever get anything cooking on this?

[ajiuO]

And why doesn’t UTA have a stop at the Zoo?