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Utah Transit Authority
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== History == The Utah Transit Authority traces its roots to 1953 when several bus companies united to form the organization. Ironically, among the constitutive companies of the UTA was [[National City Lines]], famous for its alleged cannibalization of American streetcar lines on behalf of General Motors. NSL had bought out and promptly decommissioned the electric [[Tram|trolleys]] operated by the Utah Light and Traction Company in Salt Lake City neighborhoods like [[The Avenues, Salt Lake City|the Avenues]] in the 1940s. Throughout the 1950s buses became more and more unpopular, with low gas prices and subsidized construction of highways like [[Interstate 15 in Utah|Interstate 15]]. By 1960, bus ridership was only about one third the level of war-time Salt Lake, and the average age of riders was 14. In 1969, the Utah State Legislature passed the Utah Public Transit District Act, which allowed individual communities to address transportation needs by forming local transit districts. UTA was subsequently founded on March 3, 1970, when the cities of [[Sandy, Utah|Sandy]], Salt Lake City, and [[Murray, Utah|Murray]] voted to form a transit district.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700068895/Utah-Transit-Authority-has-long-winding-road-of-history.html?pg=all |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301194941/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700068895/Utah-Transit-Authority-has-long-winding-road-of-history.html?pg=all |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 1, 2016 |title=Utah Transit Authority has long, winding road of history |last=Arave |first=Lynn |date=September 26, 2010 |newspaper=[[Deseret News]] |access-date=April 23, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=4527548 |title=Company Overview of Utah Transit Authority |publisher=Bloomberg Business |access-date=April 23, 2015}}</ref> Service was extended to Weber and Davis counties in 1973 and to Utah County in 1985.<ref name="UTArails">{{Cite web |url=http://www.utahrails.net/articles/motor-coach-age4.php |title=Motor Coach Age, Part 4 |last=Wilkins |first=Van |date=Oct 1988 |website=Motor Coach Age |issn=0739-117X |access-date=June 24, 2012}}</ref> Today, the UTA's service area is over {{convert|1400|sqmi|km2|sigfig=2}} and covers seven counties: [[Box Elder County, Utah|Box Elder]], [[Davis County, Utah|Davis]], [[Salt Lake County, Utah|Salt Lake]], [[Summit County, Utah|Summit]], [[Tooele County, Utah|Tooele]], [[Utah County, Utah|Utah]], and [[Weber County, Utah|Weber]]. UTA saw rapid expansion through the mid-1970s and 1980s. It strove to streamline the bus system, connecting the east and west sides of the [[Salt Lake Valley]] with east–west routes along 2100 South, 3300 South/3500 South, and 4500 South/4700 South, in 1975. Four bus routes to Granger, Hunter (which today comprise [[West Valley City, Utah|West Valley City]]), [[Kearns, Utah|Kearns]], [[Magna, Utah|Magna]], and [[Tooele, Utah|Tooele]] were also created the same year. Sunday service on 25 routes began in 1975, only to be removed in 1988. (Sunday service resumed in 2001.)<ref name="sltribsunday">{{Cite news |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SLTB&p_theme=sltb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=100E7F6B9B625823&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |title=UTA to Add 16 Bus Routes for Sundays |last=Keahey |first=John |date=January 25, 2001 |work=[[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |access-date=June 24, 2012 |location=Salt Lake City |pages=B2}}</ref> In 1976, the UTA began offering ski bus service to [[Alta Ski Area|Alta]], [[Brighton Ski Resort|Brighton]], [[Snowbird ski resort|Snowbird]], and [[Solitude Ski Resort|Solitude]] ski resorts in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons. Today, the UTA offers seasonal buses to those four resorts as well as [[Snowbasin Resort]] and [[Powder Mountain]] in [[Weber County, Utah|Weber County]] and [[Sundance Ski Resort|Sundance Resort]] in Utah County.<ref name="UTArails" /> Since the turn of the century, the entire service area of UTA has seen bus route redesigns, beginning with Utah County in 2000. Weber and Davis Counties saw an overhaul of their bus routing in 2002. The largest and most comprehensive change in routing occurred in August 2007 in Salt Lake County, with the goal of increasing ridership by twelve percent. Prior to 2007, night service had different numbering and routing than regular daytime service. After the redesign, nighttime routes were to retain the same routing and numbering as their daytime counterparts. Routes were consolidated as well, with 69 routes reduced to 60. Fifteen-minute service during weekday daytime hours was extended from two to 11 routes, and all other routes in the system had 30-minute service during weekday peak hours at the very least. "Fast buses," which connected suburbs to the city and charged the same fare as local buses (as opposed to express buses, which required a higher fare), were also introduced and expanded.<ref name="sltribredesign">{{Cite news |url=http://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=6717378&itype=NGPSID |title=UTA ready for biggest change in bus routes |last=Henetz |first=Patty |date=August 25, 2007 |work=[[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |access-date=June 24, 2012 |publisher=[[MediaNews Group]]}}</ref><ref name="redesigninfo">{{Cite web |url=ftp://ftrftp.slcgov.com/attachments/030607A1.pdf |title=Salt Lake Bus Route Redesign |last=Utah Transit Authority |year=2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113042104/ftp://ftrftp.slcgov.com/attachments/030607A1.pdf |archive-date=2018-11-13 |url-status=dead |access-date=March 6, 2013}}</ref> The redesign proposal was met with criticism, with low-income advocacy groups claiming that the redesign focused too heavily on commuters rather than the disadvantaged.<ref name="sltribtoughsell">{{Cite news |url=http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_5632181 |title=UTA redesign a tough sell to ridership |last=Henetz |first=Patty |date=April 10, 2007 |work=[[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |access-date=June 24, 2012 |publisher=[[MediaNews Group]] |location=Salt Lake City}}</ref> The route redesign achieved its intended goal—from 2007 to 2011, bus ridership in the entire system increased from 77,500 to 88,700, an increase of 18 percent.<ref name="APTA 07 Q1">{{Cite web |url=http://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Documents/Ridership/2007_q1_ridership_APTA.pdf |title=Public Transportation Ridership Report First Quarter 2007 |date=July 6, 2007 |website=apta.com |publisher=[[American Public Transportation Association]] |pages=28 |access-date=March 16, 2013}}</ref><ref name="APTA 11 Q1">{{Cite web |url=http://www.apta.com/resources/statistics/Documents/Ridership/2011_q1_ridership_APTA.pdf |title=Transit Ridership Report First Quarter 2011 |date=May 13, 2011 |website=apta.com |publisher=[[American Public Transportation Association]] |page=28 |access-date=March 16, 2013}}</ref> Beginning in 2010, a decline in funding that UTA was receiving from sales tax revenues resulted in service reductions. Fast bus trips were substantially reduced, with many fast bus routes being cut altogether. Saturday and night service saw cuts as well.<ref name="changeday2010">{{Cite web |url=http://rideuta.com/ridingUTA/routeChanges/default.aspx |title=Riding UTA |date=February 9, 2010 |website=rideuta.com |publisher=Utah Transit Authority |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100209040828/http://rideuta.com/ridingUTA/routeChanges/default.aspx |archive-date=February 9, 2010 |access-date=June 24, 2012}}</ref> The opening of two new [[TRAX (light rail)|TRAX]] extensions exacerbated bus route service cuts, especially in the western side of the valley; routes that previously traveled from the western suburbs to downtown would end at [[Green Line (TRAX)|Green Line]] stations, with riders expected to complete the rest of their journeys via the Green Line. For the first time in 2010, there was no service on Memorial and Labor days.<ref name="sltribmemorialday">{{Cite news |url=http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/54185330-78/service-uta-buses-carpenter.html.csp |title=No UTA trains, buses Monday |last=Davidson |first=Lee |date=May 25, 2012 |work=[[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |access-date=June 24, 2012 |publisher=[[MediaNews Group]] |location=Salt Lake City}}</ref> Service on those holidays was later restored, and as of 2020 UTA provides bus and rail service on most holidays with the exception of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://i4.rideuta.com/mc/?page=RidingUTA-HolidayService |title=Utah Transit Authority |website=i4.rideuta.com |access-date=2016-07-01}}</ref> Amidst the service cuts and rail expansions, UTA struck a deal with Park City and Summit County to begin operating an express bus between Salt Lake City and Park City in October 2011. This express service was called [[#PC-SLC Connect|PC-SLC Connect]] until [[High Valley Transit]] took over the route with its 107 service.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-12-08 |title=New commuter bus route from SLC to Park City rolls out this weekend |url=https://www.kpcw.org/state-regional/2022-12-08/new-commuter-bus-route-from-slc-to-park-city-rolls-out-this-weekend |access-date=2024-01-07 |website=KPCW {{!}} Listen Like a Local |language=en}}</ref>
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