FREE UTA FARES PROMPT SPIKE IN RIDERSHIP

The Utah Transit Authority’s recent bid to curb commuter traffic seems to have paid off.

Every year the Wasatch Front endures plummeting air quality as winter inversion traps pollutants in the valleys below. In order to combat the smog, UTA announced that all its services would be free for the month of February.

Those services include the FrontRunner, TRAX, and bus network.

By the second week of February, average UTA ridership had shot up by 20 percent, while weekend travel on the FrontRunner had nearly tripled.

“UTA has had several free fare days in recent years, thanks to our community partners,” said Carlton Christensen, chair of the UTA board of trustees. “We are excited to build on that success with Free Fare February.”

This story appeared in The Daily Universe on February 17.