UTA Sustainability Report

In 1968, the erstwhile transit service providing company following the decreasing popularity of bus service discontinued its service. Then in 1969 the Utah State Legislature passed a new act: the Utah Public Transit District Act. The act give the residents and their communities an opportunity to form local transit districts (Arave, 2010). Eventually, the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) was established on March 3, 1970 as residents from Salt Lake City and several communities—Murray, Midvale, Sandy, and Bingham voted in favor of forming a transit district (rideuta, n.d.). The agency is now responsible for providing transit service throughout the Wasatch Front of Utah. It is the 33rd largest transit agency in the USA in terms of the number of unlinked passenger trips (in unlinked passenger trips a new is trip is counted each time a rider boards on a transit) and 28th in passenger miles (APTA, 2015). The UTA runs fixed route buses, express buses, ski buses, light rail, street car and commuter rail in this region. And it provides transit services for 74% of the state’s total population (UTA Sustainability Report, 2013) …show more content…
The report also states that, despite 70 percent of UTA riders having access to a car, the agency increased ridership almost every year since 1999. Further, the UTA’s ridership has doubled in the last 15 years, meaning that the residents are considering public transportation as a way to improve air quality and promote sustainable growth in the region.

UTA route 39 has been selected as the study area. The UTA bus 39 runs from 3600 South 900 West to 900 South & Wasatch Boulevard and vice-versa. A preliminary field visit revealed a myriad of access barriers in this