U student Cameron Hansen would rather take the bus than spend $50 on gas every week to commute from Draper, but recent changes to the Utah Transit AuthorityTRAX and bus lines in that area don’t work with his schedule, he said.
“There is a direct bus on?9400 South, but the times just aren’t really convenient enough, and until the gas hits about $5 a gallon, I probably won’t be willing to sacrifice the freedom of having my own car,” Hansen said.
UTA implemented changes to bus and TRAX lines during the past year in an attempt to cut fuel costs and increase the number of people using public transportation in other areas. In the redesign last fall, UTA coordinated bus schedules to work with TRAX lines, altered price plans and extended bus routes. However, the Sandy and Draper areas lost three bus routes.
“Buses on those routes were not seeing enough ridership,” said Carrie Bohnsack-Ware, a spokeswoman for UTA.
However, with rising gas prices, U students living in those areas are wishing there were more options with public transportation. Some students from Sandy and Draper are reconsidering commuting by car during the upcoming Fall Semester.
Adam McGrath, a junior in metallurgical engineering, drives to the U everyday from Sandy. He estimates the drive is 28 miles round-trip.
“It’s a lot. I get 15 miles to the gallon,” McGrath said. “When school starts in the fall, it will cost about $8 a day.”
For McGrath, who lives near a Fast Bus stop, riding an express route is possible.
“It’s a matter of convenience,” he said. “This semester I’m probably going to start taking the bus and TRAX, maybe getting a bike. That’s what I’m going to be exploring (during) the first couple weeks of school.”
The Sandy and Draper bus service between 8000 South and 10000 South had one Fast Bus and seven regular buses prior to the redesign. The bus service has now dropped to four Fast Bus routes, one of which travels to Draper.
Fast Bus schedules are limited to early morning and evening service to accommodate a larger number of patrons.
“The market data suggested that the market out in that area was ‘Fast Bus market’ more so than an all-day-long service,” Bohnsack-Ware said.
The Fast Bus leaving Draper stops running after 8:55 a.m., and the last bus leaves the Sandy TRAX stop at 6:55 p.m. For Hansen to make that schedule, he would have to leave the U around 6 p.m.
“My schedule is always changing, so I never know when I am going to have to come home late or early,” he said.
For many students, the miles add up fast when paying at the pump.
Christopher Ng, a junior in biology, said he spends $100 to $130 per month on his 34-mile round-trip drive from home to the U.
For other students, like Saular Moaddeli, a sophomore in communication, taking a car will still win out, because waiting for a bus or TRAX takes time out of a busy schedule.
“It’s fast and easy (to take my car),” she said.
Lucas IsleyJordanne Lackmann, a ballet student at the U, waits for a bus, but some students from Sandy and Draper have problems catching a bus that takes them TRAX or the U.