UTA Trax and FrontRunner delayed on 70 out of the past 110 days.

From June 24th to October 12th of 2024, the UTA Trax and FrontRunner systems collectively have been subject to delays - lasting from ten minutes to an hour - on nearly two out of three days in the sample period. Of the 126 delays, less than half (51 in total) were due to mechanical issues. The majority of delays were caused by 'Non-Mechanical' issues, automobile accidents, or were unspecified by the UTA Alerting system.

Of particular note to the citizens of West Valley City, the Green Line was delayed on 25 out of 110 days. The Green Line is a very important connection for West Valley residents as it connects downtown West Valley City to the rest of the UTA system and downtown Salt Lake City. It is also the only express service that connects to West Valley since the closure of the 3500 S MAX line on August 7, 2022 [1] . While the UTA has begun construction on the new Midvalley Express (MVX) service [2], it's planned completion date is in the Fall of 2026. Until then, West Valley commuters best option for making important connections in the rest of the TRAX system is via Center Pointe through the Green Line.

At the time of writing, the Green Line has an average ~14,000 weekly boardings [3], making it the third most used route in all of the UTA system (including UTA system bus routes and the FrontRunner). This high utilization is likely due - at least in part - to the important connection it provides for all of the UTA system to the SLC airport. Disruptions on the Green Line can lead to missed connections and missed flights, further exacerbating delays and disincentivizing transit use.

Given projected population (and traffic) growth along the Wasatch Front, more transit options and more reliable transit options are imperative for accomodating all the newcomers without straining an already overburdened transportation network.

Special thanks to UTA for making ridership data available to the public as part of the Open Data initiative. Delay data is not publicly available and so was collected through the use of UTA's alerting system over the past four months.

References:

[1]: Davidson, L. UTA is restoring bus and train service to 91% of pre-pandemic levels. Salt Lake Tribune. https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2020/07/22/uta-is-restoring-bus/
[2]: Utah Transit Authority. UTA FactSheet MVX2024. https://www2.rideuta.com. https://www2.rideuta.com/-/media/Files/Current-Projects/Midvalley/UTA_FactSheet_MVX2024.pdf
[3]: Utah Transit Authority. UTA Routes and Most Recent Ridership. https://maps.rideuta.com. https://maps.rideuta.com/portal/apps/sites/#/uta-open-data/datasets/46e43ef851024fe5928c341071bb2e99/about