Learn about Utah Transit Authority, including Featured News, Key Projects, The Team, and Board of Trustees Information.
UTA’s mission is simple – we move people. Since its beginnings in 1970, UTA has expanded from a small company operating 90 buses and traveling 3 million annual service miles, to its current system that offers streetcar, light rail, commuter rail, bus rapid transit (BRT) vanpool, fixed-route bus, express bus, ski bus, paratransit, and route deviation services. The agency currently provides more than 45 million passenger boardings annually with 157,000 average daily weekday boardings. The Special Services Business Unit offers paratransit and route deviation services along the Wasatch Front totaling 2.7 million revenue miles and 427,000 passenger boardings per year. UTA’s bus services (regular fixed route, express, and bus rapid transit) operate 15.5 million revenue miles and boast 20 million passenger boardings annually. The Salt Lake Valley TRAX light rail system operates 2.9 million annual revenue miles with more than 18.7 million passenger boardings, while the commuter rail system, which extends from the Salt Lake Central Station north to Ogden and south to Provo, operates over 1.3 million revenue miles and attracts more than 4.5 million passenger boardings annually. The S-Line streetcar, which connects neighborhoods in South Salt Lake and Sugar House, operates approximately 76,000 revenue miles and has nearly 457,000 passenger boardings per year.
UTA serves the populations of Weber, Davis, Utah, Box Elder, Tooele and Salt Lake counties. Since UTA covers a large geographic region and more than 80 percent of the state’s population, the agency works to support Utah’s thriving economy by helping communities grow the way they want to and to help people get to where they want to go when they need to be there. In recent years, UTA has renewed its emphasis on service and is committed to listen to customers and communities in order to provide more transit access and the services and schedules that are most needed.
Federal monitorship of the Utah Transit Authority ended today, as the agency has made “significant strides” since a federally approved monitor was tasked with reviewing and reporting on the UTA in 2018, according to the Utah U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Check out our recently released 2021-2025 Service Plan.
The Brigham City Transit Corridor Study was completed it 2007. It examined options for a transit link between Ogden and Brigham City. The report found that commuter rail would be the best mode to connect the two communities. Shortly after the corridor study was completed, Box Elder County passed a sales tax to support the development of the extension of commuter rail to Box Elder County.
In 2008, UTA implemented FrontRunner service between Ogden and Salt Lake City, including trips to Pleasant View. Service to Provo began in 2012. UTA owns the track for FrontRunner starting 12th street in Ogden. Previously UTA was operating on a shared track with Union Pacific to provide service to Pleasant View. The Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 required that all rail providers implement positive train control (PTC) systems by the end of 2018. Union Pacific and UTA have developed different PTC solutions. Using the shared track would require a significant investment in PTC equipment by UTA. As such, service to Pleasant View was suspended until UTA can purchase the right of way and build a track separate from Union Pacific.
The 2019-2050 Regional Transportation Plan identifies the need to preserve the corridor between Ogden and Brigham City for future transit service. See https://wfrc.org/vision-plans/regional-transportation-plan/2019-2050-regional-transportation-plan/ for more details.
UTA is working with willing sellers to purchase a 50-foot corridor adjacent to Union Pacific’s Track. In Box Elder County, funding accumulated from the sales tax passed in 2007 is being used to buy the property. Acquiring these properties ahead of housing and commercial development will reduce future impacts and costs. UTA has a surveyor on board to develop right of way plans and other documents needed to purchase the land. UTA has successfully obtained several properties, including a future station site, in Box Elder County.
UTA is working in partnership with city and regional representatives to plan for public transportation improvements to support growth between southern Davis County and northern Salt Lake County. Building on the successes of routes 455 and 470, and aligning with the larger plan for transportation in the area (Wasatch Front 2019-2050 Regional Transportation Plan), the Davis-SLC Community Connector is a proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system connecting communities to opportunities including jobs, entertainment, and recreation. The recommended route is shown in the map below.
UTA’s light rail network, which just celebrated its 20 year anniversary, has become a key component of the region’s transportation system. Although very successful, the system must adapt to growth and evolving travel patterns to retain and improve its vital function in the overall transportation network.
Over the years, through both internal processes and regional planning efforts, a range of projects have been considered to optimize the efficiency of the network, assure sustainability, and expand to new areas. However, all of these elements have not been examined holistically. A comprehensive analysis of the network is needed to determine which improvements UTA should pursue in both the near and long term.
The Future of Light Rail Study will:
The Federal Transit Administration and the Utah Transit Authority – in partnership with Taylorsville, Murray, West Valley City, UDOT, WFRC, SLCC, and Salt Lake County – is preparing an Environmental Assessment (EA) and design for a new bus rapid transit (BRT) facility from Murray Central Station to the SLCC Redwood Campus in Taylorsville and West Valley Central Station.
For more information surrounding UTA's Board of Trustee's please visit the following links:
