Friday, August 16, 2013

Hey, What About The Buses


Behind the front page: Don’t forget bus system in Davis
Aug 09, 2013 | 406 views | 0 0 comments | 5 5 recommendations | email to a friend | print
Rebecca Palmer
Rebecca Palmer
           By Rebecca PALMER
         Clipper Editor
When UTA project manager Bill Knowles explained                  the current South Davis Transit Study to the Clipper         editorial board, one of the things he said struck me as particularly insightful.

The next generation is likely to use public transit much more than older ones have, he said. I immediately thought of my teenage siblings and how they have been much less interested in driving, and especially in owning cars, than I was. They just ride the bus and train everywhere, and see no shame in it.

At about the same time, articles came out in the national press with titles such as “Millennials strain America’s love affair with cars,” and “Study Indicates That America’s Driving Boom is Over,” both in response to a new study by the U.S. Public Research Interest Group, or PIRG.

It is clear to me that the transportation landscape is changing for good, and also that when we use public money to follow the trend, we must do so with the utmost caution and care. 
Last week, the Bountiful City Council voted to give the Utah Transit Authority $15,000 for its part of an ongoing South Davis Transit Study.

Bountiful had declined to pay about a year ago and was being carved out of the study, although Davis County paid the city’s share of the cost, city administrators said. Other cities, such as Centerville, also declined to make the initial payment.

UTA officials disagreed that Bountiful was being left out, and we weren’t able to determine what had happened either way.

However, we sympathize with one of the other major concerns expressed by councilmembers.
For example, Councilmember Tom Tolman said that he has received many calls from UTA customers over the years complaining about their bus service being cut.

While we understand that no bus service routes have been changed recently, I have seen the quality of bus service in many areas throughout northern Utah decline in recent years. Some of this seems to have been a way to make expensive projects such as the Frontrunner train and multiple Trax lines financially possible.

In retrospect, I disagree with the decision to cut bus routes. Part of the reason we offer UTA .55 cents for every dollar spent here is so that it can provide full-fledged service to all residents, not just to relatively well-off commuters during rush hour.

Looking forward, we strongly encourage UTA to consider building out its bus service rather than spending more money to create any kind of rail lines here. Fast busses could be part of the solution, but even they are more expensive than traditional bussing.

It’s true that buses aren’t as shiny and fancy as other kinds of mass transit, but they are effective, and they do get used. They are also easy to reroute in case of emergencies, and new natural gas technology makes them cleaner and less smelly than ever.

The bus system would be used even more if the network becomes a reasonable alternative to car ownership. Today, it simply fails to meet that goal.

But if we could get there, perhaps my siblings and their generation will be more likely to be less reliant on cars. If we can accomplish that, our roads will be less congested and less expensive to build and maintain, our air quality is likely to improve and we could be confident that our public funds are being put to good use.


Read more: The Davis Clipper - Behind the front page Don t forget bus system in Davis 

Bountiful & UTA - Another Transportation Study


Bountiful miffed, but gives UTA cash
Aug 01, 2013 | 1053 views | 0 0 comments | 8 8 recommendations | email to a friend | print
BY REBECCA PALMER
Clipper Editor
BOUNTIFUL — The City Council here reluctantly decided on Tuesday to hand over $15,000 in cash to the Utah Transit Authority for a transportation study, but the semi-private agency isn’t out of hot water.

The split 3-2 vote to offer the cash comes about a year after the council decided against funding its part of the study. At the time, Davis County pitched in extra cash so the study would qualify for federal money.

In the meantime, Bountiful and other South Davis cities such as Centerville had been drawn out of the map being used for the study, according to Bountiful City Manager Gary Hill.

The next day, UTA spokesmen Remi Barron said Bountiful had not been left out of the study.
Councilmember Tom Tolman voted against giving UTA the money.
“I think we need to have a good relationship but this kind of seems like they’re putting pressure on us to give them money, if nothing else,” he said.

Councilmember Fred Moss also opposed the vote. “They don’t do anything for us,” he said. “They’re cutting routes.” Moss added that it doesn’t make sense to give UTA money to study future transit options when its not meeting its patrons’ needs now.

UTA denied that it has cut service, and Barron said there are about 7,500 daily trips on buses in the county.

“We are the stepchild,” Moss said. “There’s nothing in the plan to do anything other than take our money and do a study with it.”

There have been at least four studies on transit in south Davis, and none have resulted in concrete plans or projects despite the fact that Davis County has upped its sales tax contributions to UTA by one quarter of a cent on every dollar spent. That brings the total county contribution to slightly more than half a cent per dollar.
The Bountiful Council is still reeling from the South Davis Transit Study completed in 2008, which recommended rail lines and brought out angry residents in droves.
Councilmember Beth Holbrook, a candidate for mayor, voted in favor of providing the new money.

“I think that we need to actually consider playing with them a little on this,” she said. “I think we need to know what they intend to do and how they intend to do it.”
Also voting in favor of the plan were councilmembers Jon Marc Knight and Richard Higginson.

rpalmer@davisclipper.com


Read more: The Davis Clipper - Bountiful miffed but gives UTA cash