UTA Responds to Criticism of Bus Redesign

None by KCPW

(KCPW News) The Utah Transit Authority received more than two thousand comments on its proposed bus route redesign. Spokesman Justin Jones says it's the most they've ever had - and it's not surprising since this is the biggest change in UTA's history:

"We went out with the intention of getting as many comments as possible, that was our goal," says Jones.

UTA is getting quite an earful from several citizens' groups upset at what they believe is a significant cut in bus service around the city. UTA released a statement late last week to refute some of the criticisms. Jones says UTA is not cutting bus service, but rather re-naming and consolidating routes.

"We're making them a little more intuitive, so if they're on 21st South, they're on Route 21," says Jones. "So that's confusing people. They're getting hung up on the number of route numbers we used to have, and simply isn't a good reflection of the redesign."

Furthermore, Jones maintains that Eastside residents and University of Utah students will still be able to get to their downtown destinations as quickly as before, though it may require a transfer between bus and TRAX. UTA will now process all two-thousand public comments, make adjustments to the proposal and return to the public for additional comment before implementing the changes in August.

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