The difference between Utah public transit
People like to complain about UTA and public transit, about the lack of last mile services to the inconsistent or infrequent run times.
But there are stats that I think people willingly ignore to fit their narrative, so let’s set some things straight.
UTA has one of the longest continuous commuter rails in the country, spanning 82 miles from Ogden to Provo
It has one of the largest networks of last mile ride share systems in the country, relying on vans and cars to maximize cost returns vs bus transit in light density suburbs
Almost 80% of the population in Utah have public transit coverage
For Light Rail: We are in the Top 10 for total system mileage, but our individual lines are average.
• For Commuter Rail: The FrontRunner is a Top 5 in terms of continuous distance for a single route.
• For Efficiency: Utah is arguably #1 for "population reached per mile of track"
We should be thankful our highly right leaning, Republican dominated legislature even cares. And they have cared, for more over 30 years. The first front runner demo was in 1998 and the first piece of land was purchased for trax in 1994.