Salt Lake Transit News Thread

[Stenar]

I'd rather have the car on autopilot in the mountains so I can look at the view instead of the road.

[jubguy3]

Does anyone have ridership stats on FLEX? I don't see the point of flex. Either you have waaaay too much money and time to take FLEX or you take it because paratransit is 25 cents more expensive than FLEX deviation. I would just donate or sell the paratransit buses to random organizations and have the flex buses used on para for the signs (they are also newer) and have the FLEX eliminated - it just makes everything more complicated.

[billbillbillbill]

Originally Posted by jubguy3

Does anyone have ridership stats on FLEX? I don't see the point of flex. Either you have waaaay too much money and time to take FLEX or you take it because paratransit is 25 cents more expensive than FLEX deviation. I would just donate or sell the paratransit buses to random organizations and have the flex buses used on para for the signs (they are also newer) and have the FLEX eliminated - it just makes everything more complicated.

When I do take the bus, it is the flex in Riverton. In the 15 or so times I have ridden it, I have never had it deviate to pick up anyone. One time I needed to drop my car off somewhere on a Monday morning and tried to schedule a flex pickup and learned I had to make the reservation the previous Friday before a certain time. I know the bus I took ran the morning flex route then became paratransit so I didn't know the buses were different.

[Hatman]

Flex buses are a wonderful political tool UTA uses to claim they have more localized service options than they actually do. The extra price and advanced scheduling ensure that buses rarely 'flex'. This saves UTA money by not actually needing to run buses through low-ridership areas while at the same time advertizing that they do. It's a pretty slick deal.
I would like to see more low-ridership routes turned into Flex routes. I like the way that UTA has drawn a line between being a 'public transit provider' and a 'public service provider.' It's a hard stance, but overall it means the system (and the money spent on it) is more efficient.

[JMK]

Celebrate TRAX’s 15th Birthday with 15 Cent Fare

http://www.rideuta.com/news/2014/12/birthday/

The 15 cent TRAX promotional fare runs from Dec. 15 through Dec. 31. To receive the discount, riders must pay with a FAREPAY card. The offer is good for TRAX trips only and cannot be redeemed by riders paying with cash, monthly passes, fare payment apps or contactless credit cards. Riders transferring from TRAX to buses, FrontRunner or the S-Line within a two-hour period will get a 15 cent transfer credit toward their total fare, as well as the FAREPAY 20-percent fare discount.

[brankrom]

Originally Posted by JMK

Celebrate TRAX’s 15th Birthday with 15 Cent Fare

http://www.rideuta.com/news/2014/12/birthday/

The 15 cent TRAX promotional fare runs from Dec. 15 through Dec. 31.

So we can do 15 cent Trax fares for a 2 week promotion but we can't offer free Trax on Red air days?

[Future Mayor]

Hell, I don't even think we need to do free Transit on Red Air Days, cut the cost 50% or even 25% on Red air days and I would guess that ridership would make up for the loss in revenue. But obviously they would need to make the cheaper fares for everybody, not just the FAREPAY cards.

Why not offer Trax for 15% discount or $1.50 (still has 15 in it) to everyone during the promotion, get people that don't normally ride it to give it a try and try to convert them to transit. Don't just benefit those with the pass that already ride it on a regular basis. Try getting new converts UTA.

[Hatman]

They are really pushing this farepay card because, unless there is some terrible unforeseen act of god, UTA is going to go 'cashless' as soon as they can. In that case, if you don't have a farepay card (or an equivalent smart phone app), you can't ride because there will be no more Ticket Vending Machines (TVM's) and no way to buy a single ticket at stations or on a bus.
I am told this is why a 'welcome center' was constructed at the end of the airport line, so that a UTA rep could sell farepay cards to the visiting tourists.
This is meant to save UTA money, and allow flexibility in pricing. UTA will no longer need to pay a contractor to collect fares from the TVM's and maintain all the machines, too. It is a good chunk of change that will be saved by getting rid of them. Beside costs, UTA can also roll out promotional fares much easier, without the need to reprogram all the machines (4 per TRAX platform = 200 machines). And then there is security; even if UTA offered free fares on red days, riders would still have to tap on and off, otherwise trains would become full of vegrants (not my word of choice, it's how some UTA people explained it to me).
So expect to see UTA push this card even harder as the change approaches. The more people who have a card now means there is that many fewer people furious at UTA when the card becomes manditory. That's what this promotion is all about.

[jubguy3]

The tap on machines get really crowded already. They need to install more for this to work, and I'd also like to keep my monthly pass. But otherwise I love the idea.

[RC14]

I like the idea too, as long as I can use a smart phone app instead of the card. I want to live in a paperless world.

I wonder if they could eventually install something that would automatically charge your card when you exit the train for the distance you traveled.

[brankrom]

I have a Hive pass but I also use google wallet when I have my kids with me. Tap on tap off with my phone. The way it should be.

[downtownslcresident]

What was the reason for UTA's spike in ridership on TRAX in 2005? (Check wikipedia and the atpa data)

[tygr]

Nevermind

[Reachforthesky]

Just drove I-15 today and saw these babys up! 70 mph is here





http://www.ksl.com/?sid=32672077&nid...&s_cid=queue-9

[SLC Projects]

Been driving 70 mph on our freeways for years.

[Hatman]

I approve of the higher speed limits so long as they get enforced better than the old ones. Studies have shown that cars traveling at different speeds is significantly more dangerous, and also much more likely to cause traffic jams (due to more defensive driving styles).

[i-215]

Originally Posted by SLC Projects

Been driving 70 mph on our freeways for years.

Yay! Now I only drive 10 over the limit (instead of 15). Cheaper ticket!

That said, I've been watching my speed closely this week, since it's more on UHP's mind than normal.

[downtownslcresident]

I thought you guys might be interested to know:

I reached out to UTA to ask for some data for a research paper I am working on right now. They sent back to me dialy ridership numbers for TRAX for Q1-Q3 2014.

Some things that I found interesting in the research is that by the end of Q3 2014, TRAX has already carried more than 1 million more passengers YTD than by the end of Q3 2013, and on pace to hit 20 million rides YTD 2014 for the first time ever.

Q3 2014 approx weekday average was 66.4k, up from 63.8k Q3 2013.
Q3 2014 approx weekend day average was 33.1k. The weekend numbers for Q3 showed a significant increase from previous quarters due to higher ridership on game days, comic con, etc.

January 2014
Total Rides 1,657,300
Daily Average 54,522
Weekday Average 64,782
Weekend Average 26,307

February 2014
Total Rides 1,523,000
Daily Average 53,655
Weekday Average 64,326
Weekend Average 26,977

March 2014
Total Rides 1,664,500
Daily Average 52,888
Weekday Average 64,130
Weekend Average 29,278

April 2014
Total Rides 1,681,700
Daily Average 55,231
Weekday Average 64,115
Weekend Average 30,800

May 2014
Total Rides 1,494,400
Daily Average 48,954
Weekday Average 58,908
Weekend Average 25,728

June 2014
Total Rides 1,528,300
Daily Average 50,067
Weekday Average 59,635
Weekend Average 27,742

July 2014
Total Rides 1,536,694
Daily Average 51,223
Weekday Average 59,674
Weekend Average 27,983

August 2014
Total Rides 1,626,208
Daily Average 52,458
Weekday Average 64,837
Weekend Average 26,463

September 2014
Total Rides 1,877,723
Daily Average 64,749
Weekday Average 74,747
Weekend Average 44,753

2014 Q1
Total Rides 4,844,800
Daily Average 53,688
Weekday Average 65,800
Weekend Average 27,521

2014 Q2
Total Rides 4,704,400
Daily Average 51,417
Weekday Average 61,800
Weekend Average 28,090

2014 Q3
Total Rides 5,040,625
Daily Average 56,144
Weekday Average 66,419
Weekend Average 33,066


Noteworthy ridership days of the year so far:

2/20/2014: 71,107
4/17/2014: 72,978
8/25/2014: 72,241
8/26/2014: 71,120
8/27/2014: 75,004

8/28/2014: 92,101 (I believe this is a UTA record. It was the day of the UofU home game against Idaho State)

September is the most impressive month of the year though...I am honestly blow away by these numbers considering the averages from months previous.

Tu 9/2/2014: 73,715
W 9/3/2014: 74,514
Th 9/4/2014: 86,106
F 9/5/2014: 87,073
Saturday 9/6/2014: 86,077 (more than double the weekend average...incredible.)
Su 9/7/2014: 16,188

M 9/8/2014: 68,753
Tu 9/9/2014: 69,293
W 9/10/2014: 74,689
Th 9/11/2014: 72,620
F 9/12/2014: 69,466
Sa 9/13/2014: 56,499
Su 9/14/2014: 15,966

M 9/15/2014: 70,195
Tu 9/16/2014: 71,729
W 9/17/2014: 75,184
Th 9/18/2014: 79,428
F 9/19/2014: 77,810
Sa 9/20/2014: 49,986
Su 9/21/2014: 14,180

M 9/22/2014: 76,866
Tu 9/23/2014: 73,513
W 9/24/2014: 75,119
Th 9/25/2014: 78,304
F 9/26/2014: 70,967
Sa 9/27/2014: 53,614
Su 9/28/2014: 15,523

M 9/29/2014: 70,229
Tu 9/30/2014: 74,117

If this is what can be expected on TRAX during Q4 2014, then I think it's plausable that TRAX could average 72k trips per weekday, especially since over the last 5 years, Q4 has been the highest ridership months of the year, consistently averaging 4-5k more than Q3 averages.


***Important to note*** When I was doing my research I found there there was a margin of error on the data of about 2% between UTA's raw data that they provided me, and the official data that was ultimately reported in the APTA reports.

[jubguy3]

I thought we were at 70,000 averge already...

[slc801]

Originally Posted by jubguy3

I thought we were at 70,000 averge already...

No, we haven't hit 70,000 yet. Here's some numbers

2013 Q2: 57600
2013 Q3: 63800
2013 Q4: 68100
2014 Q1: 65800
2014 Q2: 61800

Heres something interesting about those numbers: a few years ago someone would always post a graph of our light rail numbers versus metros of similar size. Over the past year, Salt Lake has had a very steady increase of between 5-10% in light rail ridership. If I remember right, Sacramento, Denver, Phoenix, and St. Louis were always right around Salt Lake's numbers. Denver's numbers have shot through the roof over the last year, probably as a result of the new line, Sacramento and St. Louis's numbers have actually decreased a little bit over the past year, and Phoenix's have increased 1-3% per quarter, which isn't as explosive as Salt Lake's. It looks like a very positive trend.

links:
2013 Q2: http://www.apta.com/resources/statis...rship-APTA.pdf
2013 Q3: http://www.apta.com/resources/statis...rship-APTA.pdf
2013 Q4: http://www.apta.com/resources/statis...rship-APTA.pdf
2014 Q1: http://www.apta.com/resources/statis...rship-APTA.pdf
2014 Q2: http://www.apta.com/resources/statis...rship-APTA.pdf