The Good, the Bad, & the Snowy of Salt Lake City Transit

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Salt Lake City might not be the first place you'd think to look for great transit, but the city and its robust light rail and regional rail system truly charmed and impressed me during my short stay. This is what the rest of North America can learn from UTA!
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Ever wondered why your city's transit just doesn't seem quite up to snuff? RMTransit is here to answer that, and help you open your eyes to all of the different public transportation systems around the world!
Reece (the RM in RMTransit) is an urbanist and public transport critic residing in Toronto, Canada, with the goal of helping the world become more connected through metros, trams, buses, high-speed trains, and all other transport modes.

[@ReuInuzuka]

As a UTA employee, I often think about our shortcomings, but seeing such a positive video about our service is really nice 💜

[@RMTransit]

I’m only reflecting when I saw as a temporary user! Albeit a well travelled one!

[@Steve-tj9on]

I saw this transit in use when my Amtrak train was late going thru Salt Lake City in 2021. Good going SLC.

[@MEATTAIL]

As someone that moved from Salt Lake City to Seattle, it genuinely surprised me how much more expansive the UTA is than the Link. The UTA rules tbh

[@kuyshina]

I often visit salt lake to see friends who moved there for school and work. I love using the green line from the airport downtown. I only with the service was more frequent and ran later at night for those using it to travel from the airport. I’d love to see more transit oriented development at the light rail and Front Runner stops, and on the adjacent corridors. It’d make salt like much more vibrant and walkable

[@angaatkeeda7971]

As as UoU student and daily user of the Trax and bus, thank you so much for your service!

[@setyourhandlex]

Wow! An American city that manages to make the tricolour look pretty instead of garish, a network integrating modern technology and practices, and staffed and maintained by people who seem to care. It may not be perfect but it seems like Salt Lake City is headed in the right direction in a lot of ways. I hope the UTA gets all the funding it needs and more people are encouraged to both use it and copy it.

[@RMTransit]

They are definitely doing a good job! 🎉

[@applesyrupgaming]

*except on sundays 😂

[@josieMayday]

@@applesyrupgaming [insert vernon dursley meme]

[@kaitlyn__L]

It’s amazing how rare it is to find an organisation which knows to make one colour bright and one colour dark. Both-bright and both-dark clash in the eye. Personally I’m a bigger fan of burgundy with bright blue over bright red with navy blue, so UTA made the best choice by my taste

[@jayc222]

UTA got $450m last fiscal year, about 21% of the entire state transportation budget. It is very well funded, but I wouldn’t be opposed to more.

[@metrofilmer8894]

I’m glad that you covered Salt Lake. As someone in who had lived in Denver and visited Salt Lake pretty regularly, I’ve always viewed it as a bit of a hidden gem that such a small and historically conservative region has actually built out a really solid rail system and is continuing to expand it which is (like many US transit projects) flying under the radar of a lot of people

[@RMTransit]

Yeah, and I actually think Denver could learn a lot! For example, the much more modern trains!

[@tomindenver1331]

@@RMTransit Yep, our light rails cars are nearing 30 years old. We actually had to special order the high-floor cars when we last expanded the system in 2019, since they are no longer made. With more than 200 light rail vehicles in service now, at a cost of aroud 4.5 million per vehicle, it would be a half billion dollar expenditure to move to low-floor vehicles. But it would be so good for ADA compliance and ease of e-bike commuters. Our E-bike uptake is among the highest in the country.

[@TimurTripp2]

It’s impressive UTA managed to connect SLC and Provo with light rail, in Denver RTD doesn’t have a major route like Denver to Boulder, only bus service. It’s disappointing.

[@JohnDoe-my5ip]

Utah is extremely socially conservative, but the legacy of the original Mormon settlers living on communes, without any concept of private property, lives on. It’s not a particularly fiscally conservative place. UT also has the lowest income inequality of any state.

[@k1rbsyy]

@TimurTripp2 RTD originally planned to have the B line run from Union Station through Boulder to Longmont, but they ran out of funding

[@sgtotaku]

As a maintenance employee at uta, I’m happy to hear such high praise from you. If you have questions about our system, let me know! I’ll answer anything I can.

[@kuyshina]

I Love using the Uta whenever I visit salt lake. I’m hoping the service begins having more late night frequency and more transit oriented development

[@CalinFR]

Hi, is the max bus still running towards Magna on 3500 south? I used to live in SLC in 2011 and loved the idea of dedicated max lanes

[@sgtotaku]

@@CalinFR as far as I know, the 35m is still running out to magna, but it’s not the three door buses anymore. Those were retired. I know the middle lanes have been being used, but I don’t know by which route.

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

FrontRunner wouldn't become a thing until 2008! As for light rail, light rail in the Salt Lake Valley was first seriously discussed in the late 1980s to provide an alternative to traffic congestion on I-15, but the idea was met with criticism (surprise to no one). Construction for TRAX began in 1997. Protesters at the groundbreaking insisted light rail would be dangerous and a waste of money. Public opinion remained divided and businesses on Main Street in downtown Salt Lake City suffered during the construction period. After the north-south line opened in late 1999 with sixteen stations, ridership expectations were quickly met. The system was enthusiastically embraced by valley residents, to the surprise of many, and once-skeptical communities soon began clamoring for extension. TRAX currently has 50 stations on three lines. Gee, it's like if you actually GIVE THINGS A CHANCE, they might end up great!

[@robk7266]

What I like about frontrunner is they they were smart enough to build its own tracks as opposed to just using preexisting freight tracks

[@MarioFanGamer659]

The only issue here is the lack of electrification given the fairly regular service on that line.

[@XBravo1CharlieX]

No they bought those lines and even their shop from UP that's why they have that freight locomotive you might see outside of their shop they had to fulfill the shipping contracts to the areas only accessible from UTA's rails.

[@genevarailfan3909]

It's less a matter of "smart enough" as "well-funded enough". Most transit systems can't afford to do that.

[@russetwolf13]

They couldn't link it to the Union Station though, they literally built a platform in Ogden just down from the old station. I worked there for 5 years, everyone wanted it and countless people walked in every day looking for the Frontrunner. Putting a platform literally right next to one of the Oldest Union Stations in America, which hasn't seen rail service since the 90s, was pretty lame. Fortunately there are finally plans to have the front runner stop at Union instead, it'll be the first passenger service in 30 years.

[@albinoguidedog]

@@MarioFanGamer659 we don't want it to be electric.

[@Freck1886]

As a Salt Lake County resident I'm happy to hear some glowing reviews. Here are some of my thoughts. The SLC Airport connection was underfunded like everything was. There was a $60 million plan to bring the track right up to the concourse and integrate it into the airport, but because we always tragically underfund everything important, we didn't disappoint to do that in this case too. I 100% agree about the rail link to both Big and Little Cottonwood canyons. They are extremely congested with cars and a Gondola just seems like a silly way to actually address the traffic needs. Those canyons are watersheds and supply a lot of drinking water to the valley. To seriously address a permanent reduction in car traffic up those canyons, they really need to invest in rail. I'll also add that they need to also have a rail connection to Park City as well. That is one of the biggest unsupported commuter corridors in the SLC area and the canyon in the winter time is like a bobsled shoot. With the Olympics being actively bid for the 2030s I think that would be a perfect improvement to invest in as well. They really need to get Sunday service, and late night service going as well. If the bars close at 2am, there should be a train at 2:10am to get people home.

[@LoveStallion]

Don't worry, though, the state government will continue to ignore this and ensure alfalfa farmers can take all the water they need!

[@theunitedstatesrailfan7423]

Currently, the reason they can’t run Sunday service is because they don’t have enough track or trains. They need Sunday to do track maintenance and routine engine and car maintenance and checks. Once the line is double tracked, and they get more trainsets, Sunday service is likely.

[@Mgameing123]

No need for night trains. Night buses would work better because they can use the midnights for maintence.

[@russetwolf13]

I can't tell you how many times I wanted to commute by Frontrunner and they just weren't running. I usually specifically work weekends very early and very late, and have to drive because when I finish an out at Vivint it's usually hours after Frontrunner quit running! And getting on the Train in Ogden at 5:06 am just to arrive 15 minutes late and find out I've been cut? I can't afford that kind of thing!

[@neolithictransitrevolution427]

The giant block sizes in Salt Lake are an issue for "activite mobility" and making a good urban downtown, huge steeet crossing with high speed traffic. But, they also contain their own solution, because it means you can create bike paths and walking trails going through Mid Blocks that are entirely seperated from cars. A lot of nice "historic" downtowns have trouble seperating cars and roads, and have to remove cars to make an area safe and welcoming. Salt Lake doesn't need to expend the political capital to redesign alleyways.

[@dexdrurglum]

I would LOVE this! Add bike and pedestrian priority signaling at the intersections and we’d be unstoppable.

[@neolithictransitrevolution427]

@@dexdrurglum Those crossing also would calm traffic making other areas a little safer.

[@dexdrurglum]

@@neolithictransitrevolution427 so true! Moving away from cars to other transit options always a virtuous cycle that only gets better the more people do it!

[@GeoMeridium]

Large block sizes can be a blessing or a curse, depending how your city develops around them. Salt Lake City just needs to improve their crossings for pedestrians. In the case of college campuses, Chandigarh, Masdar City, and Barcelona, the large blocks actually make the cities better places to walk and cycle. In a city with smaller blocks, you might have to cross a street every 60 meters, and as I've seen in Portland, Maine, it only takes one lane of traffic to get hit by a dumbass. Small blocks also encourage on-street parking, which can be dangerous for cyclists, and is a far less efficient parking solution than multi-level garages. Having large blocks also allows for the development of urban communities that are removed from roadways, and don't suffer from the noise and air pollution that road facing apartments would experience on a smaller block arrangement.

[@onesob13]

But you gotta be able to turn around a full oxen train!!

[@c216mohl]

I am a Frontrunner engineer, I really appreciate such a great video highlighting the good points about UTA. I enjoy seeing your videos about transportation around the world, keep up the good work.

[@alexhaowenwong6122]

Frontrunner manages to have 234 riders per mile vs. 99 in LA's Metrolink, so kudos to Frontrunner owning its own tracks and running all-day service vs. the fiasco Metrolink is.

[@russetwolf13]

Still needs more frequent scheduling and 24/7 service, I love using the Frontrunner for my work commute but I almost never can because I work very early or very late. The first arrival in Ogden drops me off late for an "in" at Vivint or Salt Palace, and the last leaves before I finish my "outs" at the Venues. I can't be late or I don't work, and getting stranded in Salt Lake at 2 am just isn't an option.

[@thekickisNOGOOD]

Daily FrontRunner user here - fingers crossed the money in the state budget that’s appointed to double-track the entire line actually gets used! They also just retired some old Comet cars UTA bought from New Jersey, making each train a car smaller. And a TRAX line up Little Cottonwood would be great, and they’re going to upgrade bus service while they build that gondola since it’s so expensive. Maybe they’ll see that working and scrap the eyesore gondola.

[@nathanstrain2158]

UDOT has revised the plan to selective double track. When the billion dollar project is complete they will have just shy of 50% double track.

[@alexf4500]

Hope so 🙏

[@RMTransit]

@@nathanstrain2158 honestly 50% double track will still have a huge impact!

[@de-fault_de-fault]

I thought it was pretty impressive that UTA was able to keep the Comet I’s on the rails for almost another 15 years. I didn’t ride them often on NJT because I mostly use the Newark Division lines that have (mainly) high platforms, but from what I remember they were well worn even before they were shipped out west. UTA did a great job getting more life out of them.

[@sroundy4118]

@@nathanstrain2158 UDOT is the evil empire

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

Regarding the airport connection, that decision was made due to cost. It was supposed to be an elevated track to the second level that would connect indoors, but alas, they went with the cheaper alternative. I agree that it was a missed opportunity. The livery on the UTA vehicles is aesthetically pleasing! Part of getting people to take transit is to make it appealing, and they've succeeded in doing that (well...besides the Airport station). That aside, I definitely understand that embarrassment argument. The main reason their TRAX system was built and opened in 1999 was in preparation for the 2002 Winter Olympics (like how the 2010 Winter Olympics bid motivated Vancouver to build the Canada Line). If they didn't win the right to host, I doubt they would've built TRAX. Heck, when it opened, there wasn't even a station at the airport! The airport wouldn't get one until 2013! TRAX ended up borrowing 29 Kinki Sharyo LRVs from Dallas to handle overcrowding during the Olympics! And another thing Utah did for the 2002 Winter Olympics for transport was for those heading to Soldier Hollow (for biathlon, Nordic combined, and cross-country) that the Heber Valley Railroad offered a special train service to Wasatch Mountain State Park on steam locomotives, and then horse-drawn sleighs took spectators to the venue.

[@cnj420]

SLC resident here, glad you appreciated what we've got going on here.

[@RMTransit]

Good stuff!

[@ericfortney2167]

Please look into the Rio Grande Plan. It's a really unique initiative to return a historical train hub to it's former glory. It's an ambitious resident led initiative that could benefit from a dedicated video or even just a shout-out from a transit focused channel like you have here.

[@neolithictransitrevolution427]

This sounds amazing and useful for other transit advocates. I'm going to look into it and I hope a video is made.

[@mat4keeps]

This is something all of us in salt lake are hoping for. It will free up downtown space, lesson the east west divide, centralize in a Denver like way our transit systems, revitalize a struggling neighborhood and utilize a historic train station that is a point of pride for SLC. Thank you for the video. It was excellent.

[@fenlinescouser4105]

Knew nothing about this so did a YT search, found Christian Lenhart's channel and his presentation on the proposal. Loved the content! He really deserves more views & likes.

[@genevarailfan3909]

Having taken Amtrak to and from SLC a few times, I really hope that plan happens. The current station feels like a temporary structure.

[@trapper_keeper]

Adding my voice to those really hoping for the Rio Grande Plan! Been following it since it was announced. And they're even getting money to actually do a government analysis on it. We gotta keep pushing!

[@JakeStewart1343]

I took UTA for 2 years while going to the University of Utah. It's free for students. You don't have to worry about a parking pass at the school and I spent my time studying on the train instead of getting road rage in traffic! 😎

[@ZakhadWOW]

it isnt technically free - you pay for it with part of your student fees - you jus tdont see an itemized break out

[@dexdrurglum]

Reese have you heard of the Rio Grande Plan that is currently being discussed by transit enjoyers in SLC? I would be really interested to hear your take on it. Basically would be putting our rail lines in a train box through Salt Lake and moving Salt Lake Central station to the historic Rio Grande station a flew blocks away (closer to downtown).

[@expletivedeleted7853]

That would be amazing! It’s sad seeing that beautiful building sit mostly unused.

[@jacksongaskill9339]

Great video! I lived in SLC for 5 years and was a daily UTA user. I will say that UTA's doing a great job of improving density around its stations - if you take the red or blue lines south to Draper and West Jordan, huge apartment complexes have sprung up around the stations over the last 5-10 years. I lived in a brand new apartment right on the red line in West Jordan that took me straight to my office downtown and my University without transferring, which meant I often went a week or more without needing to drive. I also recommend looking into the Rio Grande plan, which addresses a lot of your suggestions about increasing density at hubs and moving some service indoors.

[@jessehughes8274]

As a Frontrunner rider, I was just scrolling to make sure somebody mentioned the surge in apartment development near the rail. Great comment!

[@davidlazarovich]

Salt Lake should also consider buying from Stadler for the next order of tram/LRVs. It's a win for both because Salt Lake will have easy access to maintenance and Stadler will be able to loosen up the death grip Siemen's has on the North American LRV market and Salt Lake would be their proving ground.

[@RMTransit]

I definitely think it would be cool to build the trains in the same city!

[@robserrano8971]

UTA should plan all new light rail systems .

[@XBravo1CharlieX]

They probably will if salt lake gets the winter Olympics in 2030. I hear they practically got a blank check leading up to 2002 from the fed and state that's why Trax as good as it is

[@robserrano8971]

@@XBravo1CharlieX I stayed by Trolley Square in the early 2000s and rode the TRAX everywhere.

[@genevarailfan3909]

@@RMTransit It would be good for Stadler's marketing too. They could bring potential customers in for a factory tour AND the opportunity to ride their products in service.

[@twentysixbit]

Thanks for commenting on our little rail system! It means a lot someone is putting a spotlight on a system with so, so much potential!

[@LEB52]

As a resident of SLC (Sugar House) and a transit user, it was nice to hear how we are doing. I don't get a chance to compare with other systems.

[@devinmathews7809]

I have always thought highly of the UTA system. The sunday thing and how it doesn't run after midnight brings it down. I also love how anyone who visits Salt Lake mentions city creek mall

[@matthewr21]

Regarding the Sunday cutbacks, the reason that FrontRunner doesn't run on Sunday (and also why it doesn't run in the early morning) is not necessarily due to demand, but actually because they want some downtime where they can sneak in repairs without the passengers noticing. FrontRunner is a mostly single-tracked system, so repairs during revenue hours are highly disruptive, requiring bus bridges to skip passengers over the construction.

[@cameronperry8446]

I live about 40 minutes south of SLC in Lehi. I grew up close to SLC and loved using transit (specifically the frontrunner). It really isn’t bad for an American city, but European cities will always beat it hands down in my opinion. They’ve done a great job expanding the network, but much needs to be done still. Specifically near Lehi where I live now. The area is booming and is home to all the tech companies in Utah. The traffic is absolutely horrific down here and the solution has just been to rapidly build roads and add lanes to I-15, which is basically the California approach. We all know that’s been disastrous for California commuters. Lehi needs its own light rail stemming from the frontrunner station, linking nearby Alpine, Saratoga Springs, Eagle Mountain, and American Fork. I’d also love to see safe separated bike routes linking all those cities.

[@Northern_Silverbird]

Check out the new bike-friendly (?) apartments being built very close to the American Fork train station! The station is a park & ride, but people living in those new apartments will be able to walk/bike there no problem.

[@AstroMagi]

There are actually more tech companies in downtown SLC than in Lehi/Draper.

[@joshuaadams8240]

I took trax when I was a student at the University of Utah. I loved the free service I received and it's use of extra trains during sporting events.

[@ryanmccormick4686]

Stadler proposed an electrified swiss style rail line to Alta/Snowbird at similar cost to the gondola and much higher capacity!

[@frite2002]

Wait really? That's great. Alrhough i will say rich people will do anything except ride a bus XD. Im concerned about the environmental and cultural effects of building rail or gondola

[@hintmations]

Man, I never thought salt lake city had it this good. My local light rail (VTA) is pretty bad, service every 30 minutes, dirty, 20 something year old vehicles, and they have all the fancy elevated guideways and stuff, but it doesn't go anywhere. So seeing this video made me realize how screwed the bay area is. But, I'm quite happy to know that there are many places that much, much, better than the garbage I have to deal with.

[@Rubycon99]

VTA is weird. It's routes are in places that in most areas I would say "Yeah, there's no way you're getting there by transit." It's actually been sorta convenient for me because most of the time when I'm going down to the South Bay I'm visiting tech company offices. It's always a little surprising to find out that some random office park has a light rail stop right across from it.

[@kait112]

I lived for 11 years of my life getting to the University of Utah and then to work without a car and using this rail line, the SLC bus lines, as well as walking. It was a very healthy, happy time of my life and why I’m such an advocate for transit and walkabilty now. Thank you for covering this!

[@cobalt8619]

There's also plans to expand amtrak corridor services between SLC & Boise and SLC & Las Vegas. Upgrading salt lake central to be bigger and better suited for passenger rail should be a big focus for them

[@genevarailfan3909]

I didn't hear about the Amtrak plan to restore SLC-Vegas service, just SLC-Boise and LA-Vegas. If they get one of those, I suspect the plan to move back to the Rio Grande station is likely to happen.

[@eric_vde]

"Plans" is a loose term but man oh man would I love to see that. The fact that salt lake express turns a profit on those routes with basically zero effort should be a key indicator of demand.

[@genevarailfan3909]

@@eric_vde Yeah. Last I heard it wasn't just Amtrak pushing for the SLC-Boise route, but the federal DoT recommended that there should be a rail route there.

[@gljames24]

I've been really excited by the prospect of that. It would help make Amtrak coverage in the West so much better especially with the new high speed rail line between Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

[@bcroz76]

I've lived in several large cities in the western U.S., including supposedly pedestrian friendly Seattle, and SLC has the best transit system I've used.

[@retrix_game]

on the subnect of the new seats: the sd70's used on the green/red/s line and the sd160s(the unit's with the sliding doors, not the bifold doors) on the blue line actually had there original seats replaced, they were leather, but uta reoplaced them with the seats they have now. also, there is transit oriented developement actually happening on the system, just on the southern end of the network (mainly from milcreek to murray north, and from bingam junction to daybreak parkway). the stops in the downtown area is mainly has retail developements taking place (hence the placement of the city creek mall), and there really isnt much in the terms of housing along those segments currently. for the frontrunner, i'd say the bombardier bilevel coaches/cab cars are a good start to the network in terms of capacity. we did have comet cars , but they were just "there". they rarely saw any use. stadler rail havin a factory nearby is cool, but the only major thing happening with the frontronner is midlife rennovations to the bilevel cars.

[@fenlinescouser4105]

Re Frontrunner Christian Lenhart posted today on his YT channel regarding planned stock increases.

[@Galactico42]

A great plus of the S line is that it it also created a spectacular multi-use path that has been extended in both directions to greatly improve bike commuting in the city.

[@grantholmes5661]

UT resident here. Despite all my gripes, its actually a pretty good system for the US. As long as you live in SLC. Weekend & late night service is lacking, and I wish we invested more in it, especially in and around the rail stops.

[@meech37]

As someone who has commuted on UTA trax everyday for the last half decade I have to agree. It's always clean and on time.

[@ubergeek1968]

A couple of things to point out about your criticisms... 1. LDS Chapels are very localized, often within walking distance of the members of the various Wards that share the building. Public transit to those buildings would be nearly impossible without seriously disrupting residential neighborhoods. 2. What most people think of as "Salt Lake City" is actually Salt Lake COUNTY, which has nearly 2 DOZEN separate cities and townships within its borders. Any changes to the UTA system requires the cooperation of each municipality that the system serves, which makes things very complicated. 3. The entire Salt Lake Valley sits in an oval "bowl" upon a plate that "floats" within that bowl. That plate can shift horizontally in random ways, which can cause earthquakes (such as in March 2020). The plat is not thick enough to permit subway tunnels that could be adequately protected from the horizontal shear that comes with earthquakes along that fault. 4. While a train to the ski areas would be a great idea, I do not believe that a LIGHT RAIL service could handle the very steep grades leading to the slopes. I know that the road through Emigration Canyon is 6% and greater and I80 through Parley's Canyon can hit 8%... in the winter there is no way a TRAIN could make that trip. 5. The TRAX station at the airport was built before the recent airport rebuild, so your criticism of choice of placement is a bit unfounded. At the time it was built it was immediately outside the terminal door. 6. There are plans to expand Trax from the Airport to include a line that goes on the West side of the valley and even, possibly, to Tooele (West of the Oquirrh Range)

[@AlanKor]

UTA user here, glad to finally be represented

[@wolfperson883]

Look up Rio Grande Plan.

[@neolithictransitrevolution427]

Transit providers that due a great job with minimal funds- Focusing on service over stops and incremental improvements - are the model we need to pay the most attention to. It's easy to have great transit when you spend $1 billion per km on a subway, but have only a few hundred million for a full system is something sustainable and replicable. Line 2 Ottawa is another great example..

[@tomjones3113]

UTA and the SLC airport originally planned on bringing the Green Line Trax by elevating it into the airport. Due to limited financing, it is what it is today. They have finished replacing the new seats on the red and green lines. Right now, UTA is changing seats on the blue line which is really in need of replacing. Love the channel. Keep up the great work.

[@RMTransit]

Big mistake deprioritizing transit

[@LopazIRL]

@@RMTransit It's such a shame, it would be the coolest thing ever if they ever did that

[@bearcubdaycare]

The airport is apparently doing an enormous amount of renovation. Too bad if they aren't including this.

[@joermnyc]

@@bearcubdaycare I believe the headhouse is already finished and open, so missed opportunity to include the Trax station in the building. (Some of the airside gate areas is still under construction.)

[@marbles05]

@@RMTransit It was over $20,000,000 for that short connection between TRAX and the airport. They decided to spend the money on better things. It is a very short walk from the baggage carousels to the trains.

[@jacobwhitecotton]

Coming back 8 months later, I actually know why the airport station is in such a weird place, very soon after uta finished the original airport station, the airport authority announced the reconstruction, which made uta very angry because they built the airport line (as well as most other extensions) using debt. uta was insistant that the original station not be moved, while the airport authority wanted to make a new elevated station in the terminal. They came to a comprimise and moved the station to its current location. This whole situation is probably also why the lettering for light rail is so small at the airport as well

[@phillipwitt4433]

As a local Utahn, I do think UTA does a decent to good job especially for public transportation in the US. You definitely emphasized some of the best aspects/routes of UTA, and presented some interesting/promising ideas for future projects. Where UTA could really improve is with their bus service. It's far too infrequent. If you want to ride a bus and have it take you where you need to go you really have to plan your day around the bus schedule, and buses are infrequent (hourly at best if you're lucky), and oftentimes late so your planning goes to waste. One notable exception is the FREE UVX bus line that runs in Provo/Orem about 35-45 minutes south of Salt Lake. Trax, FrontRunner, and UVX (the 3 most recent large UTA projects) have all been successes. So UTA has done some great things, but we (in Utah, and the US at large) still have a long way to go. I for one am definitely in favor of some of your suggestions as well as some other improved service options that I would be more aware of as a local.

[@corbinbishop1991]

Living in Utah my whole life everyone just shits on UTA. It's nice to hear a different perspective and realize its pretty great. It saved my life for about two years doing full time school and work in Salt Lake City, and living in Draper.

[@trapper_keeper]

Thanks for covering our transit! I commute via FrontRunner once a week, driving to the Provo station. There are plans to expand FrontRunner to three more stops south of Provo, where UTA also owns the track. Agreed with what you said: these plans should be accelerated. UTA punches above their weight and I wish the state would repay that prowess with better budgets.

[@sunandsage]

Agreed. It shouldn't take 25 years to build that.

[@logansimmons2460]

I used to be a software engineer intern at UTA, and I was always super impressed by how happy everyone was there. Love the idea of a light rail that goes through cottonwood canyon, been wanting them to do that for years!!

[@anthonyt402]

I would give my life for UDOT to go with the proposed cog rail alternative in the canyon

[@earthjacobs9844]

Welcome to Utah, my home. I used it all the time. It's awesome. 2:50 to get into the city, damm. As a resident of SLC, you get half of a monthly pass. The Hive pass is the bomb. We get Front runner, the bus and Trax all day long. I used the bus to the ski resorts also. Hell freaking yeah SLC, my home. Show them. Haters, move.

[@tommynunez1495]

Also a UTA employee, thanks for posting. Like a person said in the comments whenever there are special events, or trax/ frontrunner situations. We get the buses moving in a hurry. Representing The Meadrowbrook/Depot garages with pride. You can catch on those bus bridges all the time.

[@expletivedeleted7853]

A couple of years ago I spent a few days in SLC, I was shocked at how amazing UTA did at building the network. I absolutely loved the dual button doors, and with my rolling suitcase really appreciated the ramps. SLC punches way above its weight, and other mid sized cities could really learn a lot emulating SLC!

[@p-san]

Fellow utah'n here. Id like to add a few key notes. The problem that i see with the green line (airport rail) is the area it has to pass through. Last year west valley city was ranked among the top 10 most dangerous cities to live in. So there might be a little bit of embarrasment to have our passengers travel through the city. I dont think we should hide our skeletons, but i also dont think we should have them on our front door. (my wife will not ride trax alone due to the safety feeling). Aaaaand the green line end station was actually farther away beleive it or not. You make a valid point with having the end station be in the airport. That could have been a cherry on top for many people Secondly; the largest hang up with The front runner line is that it is currenly on a single rail system allowing for a 30 min service minimum during rush hour. I used front runner to commute during rush hour, and i will tell you from experience, 30 minutes is too long. Talk had been done about converting the line to a double track system, which greatly improves ridership, but comes with a price tag thats in the billions. uta has been slowly expanding the line so long as they see demand, like you mentioned Lastly i like how you brought up little cotton wood canyon. I didnt even consider another light rail to shuttle one to the resorts. From a locals point of view, I wouldn't want a gandola to obstruct that amazing view. On the opposite side of that, how awesome would that view be from a gandola, before you hit your favorite resort. Fortunantly, the plans for lcc (little cottonwood canyon) has been paused due to so much feed back. They got 13,000 comments and decided to re-survey the area for new ideas, and problems not addressed in the first survey. Ive read some of the responses, and they are very detailed.

[@schwenda3727]

I was quite shocked on my first visit in SLC in 2019. I stayed at a hotel right off I-215 opposite the Valley Fair Mall and was surprised that I COULD HAVE taken light rail not only back & forth from my hotel but to a couple of trails just behind the University of Utah (I went up & down the “Living Room” Trail). Upon further research after said trip, I found that the entire Wasatch sprawl has about as comprehensive of transit as one will ever find for a region it’s size. Commuter rail & apparently both Ogden & Provo have a BRT line. It’s a bit of a shame I never rode any of that system… One thing in particular that state oughta consider is state sponsored Amtrak back & forth from SLC to Moab (literally home to two national parks & at least one good state park) and to see if they could get Brightline West to do a northward extension of their planned LA to Vegas service to extend to/through: >St. George >Hurricane (almost the entrance to Zion National Park) & ultimately the SLC area including Provo & Ogden With substantial potential to see if Brightline would want to build a service between St. George & at least Moab; ideally to Grand Junction CO (allowing Amtrak’s California Zephyr or other potential future intercity routes to operate on said upgraded alignment between said points). The obvious benefits aside, I-15 between Vegas & SLC appears to already have very plentiful volume along it… truck traffic in particular. Any options deterring tourists to literally drive everywhere could noticeably help regarding traffic pressures if not public safety to a degree (the more of the absolute dumbest drivers using some sort of transit instead of driving everywhere, the better for everyone).

[@oneguyonascooter9278]

I'm really hoping that the SLC Light Rail will serve as some sort of beacon to other cities; it was strongly opposed but once built, most people loved it, including former opponents.

[@fernbedek6302]

Shops and such at transit stations really helps with a feel of eyes on the street, which is nice when you’re a woman taking transit late at night/early in the morning.

[@stekra3159]

Even small citys can bild grate tram systems,

[@NathanAverett]

Good video. One quibble: you compared SLC to Calgary and Edmonton, saying it is smaller than both. This is technically true by looking at the population of SLC proper, but if we zoom out a bit we see that the Utah Transit Authority serves closer to a population of 2 million with light rail service in Salt Lake County (1.1M), and commuter rail stretching from Utah County (~700k) to the south, to Davis (~400k) and Weber (~300k) counties in the north, and of course bus service throughout.

[@gregderise9969]

I’m really impressed! I had no idea that we had something on a smaller scale anywhere that is designed on such a good footing and worth boasting about at all. Nice. I’ve been in southern Utah to the national parks, but never to Salt Lake City. I know someone from there so sometime, I’ll have to Inquire about his opinion.

[@CrazyJ628]

I lived in SLC for 8 years and loved UTA. TRAX and Frontrunner were regular services for me. Ski busses were clutch. You should look up the Rio Grande Plan

[@peterjones701]

My Dad delivered supplies to the new airport and kept me updated on the project and originally the Green line's Airport station was originally set to be on the overpass right in front of the main entrance.

[@bobvorwald9737]

As a resident of Utah I do like what UTA has done. I use the system whenever I can and is my preferred method of travel to downtown and using Front Runner is very good. Unfortunately the lack of overnight schedules is a large hindrance to the airport. 24 hour service is a must. The gondola to the ski resorts is bad since it only supports the resorts.

[@lokingbob]

:)

[@benfaerber4956]

Thats my home! Thanks for coming to visit us.

[@rebeccarobb4121]

I live a half block from the S line. I love that I can access all the buses and trains from my apartment in Sugarhouse.

[@alexweech451]

As a former resident, you certainly touch on many of the strengths (good operations, clean cars, relatively frequent, whole-region integration) and weaknesses (poor Sunday service, not enough TOD, Salt Lake Central is bad, stops don't have enough shelter) that I thought about often when I lived there. To complain about the lack of shelter some more, one of the most miserable things you can do is wait at North Temple station for a rush hour FrontRunner in the heat of summer with a UP locomotive idling loudly right there. There's just not enough shade with those tiny shelters that they have and how many people are on the platform. I imagine that waiting in the rain would be just as bad, but it rains so infrequently that I never had to do that. And I'll further sing praises for UTA controlling transit all over the Wasatch Front. It was absolutely fantastic to catch a bus in Ogden to the train station, ride down to Provo, and catch a bus to Payson all on the same transit card and only looking at one agency's schedules. You can go for 122 miles on the system! That's less than New York to Philadelphia!

[@kr46428]

Yes, huge agreement on the "UTA controlling transit all over the Wasatch Front". Having a unified transit agency means that all the transit modes are designed to work with each other, and you can transfer across modes (train to bus, bus to train). Contrast the unified, relative sanity of UTA with the awful Bay Area transit agencies, in which all the different transit agencies actively hate each other and cannot agree on a unified transit plan for the region.

[@amadeosendiulo2137]

In my city a tram not going on street is called a fast tram if it meets some more requirements, like separation.

[@tonywalters7298]

I think the "default" for airport visitors in the USA is to either head to the rental car counters or the taxi/rideshare stand instead of taking transit

[@RMTransit]

Wasn’t the default for me and the many other people getting on the train!

[@_very]

Enough people take the train from the airport that the bars near the station downtown get slammed by visitors.

[@bearcubdaycare]

I think that's changing year by year, at least for those airports that have transit.

[@lizardman69]

Depends on the city. PDX, STL, or NYC, no rental required. I live in Ogden and always take train to airport. Saves tons $$$ in parking fees.

[@sillyhead5]

Good video Reece, thanks.

[@MassbyTrain]

Your not gonna talk about the 30 minute headways every time but peak

[@RMTransit]

I was riding off peak in the service was not every 30 minutes!

[@brendonmorehouse2889]

Great video! Love to see a vid on the San Diego Trolley!

[@henrykobulnicky9537]

Besides an electric rail line to Snowbird, an electric rail line from downtown to Park City paralleling I-80 much of the way would also make a lot of sense.

[@ubergeek1968]

You have to consider the steep grade of Parley's Canyon... in the winter that would be a very dangerous route.

[@henrykobulnicky9537]

@@ubergeek1968 It would be more dangerous to drive than take a train in snowy conditions.

[@anthonymrskipt9252]

My understanding is that the consultant (or whomever) who created the Stadler presentation for rail up Little Cottonwood Canyon was only brought in last minute and that the presentation did not do the option justice. Honestly, as a local, I would love to see rail connecting all the world class skiing that lies within not much more than an hour from downtown SLC. How amazing would it be to stay anywhere in downtown or the Wasatch and be able to hop on a train and ski any of the 8 resorts rather than having to deal with parking or traffic. Sign me up!

[@1978dkelly]

What would you think about a city like Winnipeg using Salt Lake as an example of how to get a new rail transit system built?

[@RMTransit]

Seems reasonable!

[@michaelvavala3088]

The person who initially built the subway blueprints for the TTC actually made one for Winnipeg too. I imagine Winnipeg was just too small then but Calgary and Edmonton started building their transit systems in the 70's when they both had a population of around half a million each. Which Winnipeg is much larger than now. I wonder if Winnipeg's prone to flooding discourages them. Not to say they couldn't engineer a way.

[@philkeeve6577]

For a young system it does pretty well! I live in the Salt Lake suburbs and use TRAX and the bus most days to commute. Don't forget about the BRT systems in Provo and (soon) Ogden, including an extension of UVX to the Provo Airport. The seat upgrades are definitely a plus, as the old ones were bolt upright and had cloth which got dirty easily. They are also working to upgrade the older LRVs to run with the newer ones. I do agree about some of the sheltering for inclement weather, or putting up platform heaters a la Chicago. What I will add about the airport station is that it's still an improvement over the old one. For accessing the majority of the airport with the old station and airport, you had to walk through two terminals and through possibly bad weather twice instead of just once. Still easier than accessing the L from either of Chicago's airports...

[@douglasfreer]

I’m going to Salt Lake next month and originally I was planning to Uber to the hotel but there’s a station near where I’m staying so I’m thinking of using the rail instead. I like rail more than cars and buses anyway so it’s a win for me.

[@FishyAltFishy]

Yessss UTA, anything salt lake is pretty rare on youtube. Pls Manila eventually haha.

[@victorharderson8782]

I got to ride a few of these trains back in 2018 and thought it was very well done

[@ylilin]

"nobody yelled at me for filming the trains and busses" lol what In Switzerland, if you're caught harassing trainspotters or bus-spotters as an employee of the railways or any bus company, you'll get suspended. Hell, some cities actively support and advocate for *more* spotting. In Luzern and Bern you can even win prizes.

[@1978dkelly]

Sadly not so in a lot of the US. PATH in NJ/NY actually forbids all photography (although it certainly still happens given all of the images online). Some other places allow it in theory but in practice security guards or station attendants will tell you not to, or will threaten to call the cops if you continue, even though their own policies say its allowed.

[@MarloSoBalJr]

​@@1978dkelly Because we live a fear of "photographers of transit are plotting terrorist activities" because of 9/11 Such shame...

[@SeaBassTian]

Amazing! Now I wanna book a trip to SLC.

[@alexf4500]

Thanks for coming!

[@segul3680]

Hi there, would you consider doing a video on San Diego next? I’d love to hear your thoughts on our system! Basically just roasting how bad it is but also how you think it could be improved. Edit: and also maybe a video on the regional connector in dtla what that’s finished too?

[@MiaCollinsNeighborhood]

Hey, pretty nice video!

[@RMTransit]

Pretty nice comment😂

[@Lydia13778]

I really appreciated this video. I am a salt lake resident and though I do wish a lot of things were better you reminded me how much I also appreciate the Trax system especially. I very much agree with your ideas for improvement and the easiest improvement really is run it like they did for all star weekend. That was some of the best public transit I've ever felt in salt lake city. Just do that all the time

[@tizianoemiliogarau582]

Great video, I suggest you see what you think of the Brescia and Lausanne Metro. Keep it up. Greetings from Milan.

[@jimmydilley9138]

I’ve been using the UTA transit service for over a decade, and it is insanely reliable. Also despite bad weather and heavy snow, the rail service is still reliable, which is incredible. There’s some positive legislation that is being talked about to potentially make UTA free in the future which all of us that use UTA frequently would very much love.

[@CelloLinuxFellow]

When I lived in Sugar House and would bicycle frequently I'd race the streetcar rather than ride it. I found it a bit silly because of that.

[@SonovaStitch]

Another nice thing worth mentioning is that they've taken advantage of the new infrastructure that UTA buildout necessitated to add bicycle paths. There's a path that runs along the S-Line, for instance, which can now allow you to ride your bike all the way from Parley's Canyon to the Jordan River Parkway and only share surface with cars for about 500 feet (between Main St and W Temple), thanks to bike paths that were built into the bridges for the Green Line, crossing the freeways and heavy rail lines that divide the east and west sides of the valley. SLC is shockingly bicycle friendly, as is all UTA service apart from the S-line (but thanks to the bike path along the S Line it's faster to bike it anyway).

[@aaronkashby]

Great video I have watched several on this channel. I have lived in Utah essentially my whole life and I enjoy taking the public transit here even though it doesn’t connect out to the suburb I live in and I work from home. I agree with the assessment that UTA does a good job with somewhat limited funding.

[@pineapplepizza27]

wow this was a suprise! i never would have expected salt lake to have a decent transit system!

[@Dog-Girl-Defect]

I went to salt lake city to visit my girlfriend at the end of last year, I was blown away by how amazing the public transport was. The busses, the rails, the supple sidewalks were just so refreshing.

[@DFWRailVideos]

Great video Reece! I enjoyed the in-depth look into UTA TRAX, and now I want to go to Salt Lake City. I heard you mention ads on trains, and how you hate them. Don't come to Dallas, then! About ten or twelve SLRVs (what we call our light rail vehicles) are wrapped in their entirety, covering the windows too (the wraps themselves are a hit or miss, the AT&T one looks okay). Maybe 50 SLRVs have quarter-body wraps that wrap the front end of the train (not the operator's cab) that also cover the window.

[@RMTransit]

I think hate is a strong word, but I think that you could learn a lot from Utah

[@gljames24]

I really enjoyed UTA when I was up there for last summer. I wish there was rail and the Front Runner to show up more often tho.

[@Fan652w]

Thank you Reece from Roger Sexton for an extremely informative video! In all seriousness, I suspect that Swiss firm Stadler decided to build its North America base in Salt Lake City because it is has good public transport. At about 7m 30s into the video I was thinking, 'This is reminding me of Switzerland.' About 20 seconds later, you said it yourself! On a separate point, I strongly agree with your remarks regarding Sunday public transport. On this point, My home country of the United Kingdom is (outside London) extremely poor. And that is despite the fact that post-covid, the THE NUMBER OF PASSENGERS TRAVELLING AT WEEKENDS HAS RECOVERED.

[@RMTransit]

Indeed, weekend travel has broadly recovered much better than weekday!

[@Adroit1911]

I'm happy you enjoyed your visit to the great SLC. I hope you're able to come back to Utah again and maybe hit the train from Moab to grand junction...

[@JIKwood]

As someone who's used it a bunch, it's under it's most heavy strain on saturdays in the fall. but even then it's very very reliable.

[@Daikuro1]

We don't get many Ws in Utah so this video made for a nice change of pace. I live in Sugar House and easily one of my favorite things is how simple it is for anyone to get to/from the airport. No need to coordinate pickup/dropoff with family or anything like that. I just walk 10m to the S-Line, take it to Central and then get on the Green Line. Takes me about 1hr to get to the airport and I don't have to waste time dealing with parking or anything. The airport TRAX station being outside is definitely weird, but it is extremely close to the terminal so at least there's that. I should point out, I haven't actually been to the airport in the last couple of years (for SOME reason), but it's nice to hear it's still a pleasant experience. The first time I used rail to get to the airport instead of trax I was constantly noticing how pleasant it feels to not have to worry about a car - not to mention just playing video games while the train drives for me.

[@skurinski]

what? Utah has many Ws, its considered one of the best states to live. If anything SLC drags the whole state a bit down in stats

[@nathanielscreativecollecti6392]

This was so positive. As a Utahn, this was really nice.

[@SUBPARCADE]

I've always been so pissy or critical with our transit system but to sit down and really listen to the positives is a nice change of view. I def needed this

[@samthomas8179]

Thanks for making a video about the transit system I call home! I love UTA but could not agree more that Sunday service cuts are one of its glaring shortcomings. It's very frustrating because that's a day I actually want to go places, and it's hard to do so when most buses are once an hour (or half-hour if the route is "high-frequency" 🙄). And thank you for defending the S Line streetcar. It has room for growth but is still underrated and over-ridiculed, in my opinion.

[@jlawrence0181]

How many people would actually ride transit on Sunday? Even in high transit cities like Chicago, I would say that probably less than 30% of normal usage? Yes, you might ride it 5-10 time a year to a local attraction but the usage never goes much beyond that. And with the reduced car traffic in SLC on Sundays, it would be a lot quicker to drive.

[@mxg75]

I love gondolas, but I love bubble chairs more. Protection from the elements without taking your skis off. (And, on the fancy ones, heated seats.) Oh, you meant gondolas for transit.

[@gravekeepersven82]

I am moving here from Phoenix AZ and the UTA already looks vastly superior to what phoenix could ever offer.

[@UrbanPorcupine]

You should look into the Rio Grande Plan in Salt Lake City if you haven't already.

[@bionicleman1231]

I loved this! I live in salt lake and use the trax and buses quite a lot, and even as someone from San Francisco I find the service to be great, especially in the city proper. The only gripe I have with the system is that it doesn’t run late enough at night, but there has been talk lately about extending services later. As far as the idea of putting a rail line in the canyon, that would be fantastic but the avalanche risk makes it impossible. Little cottonwood is the most avalanche prone place on the continent, so that would inevitably drive maintenance costs and cleanup costs on the rail through the roof. I think the best solution would be to expand further and incentivize more the bus services already in place to get more people on them. They really are fantastic. I didn’t own a car my first year here and I still had no issue getting to the resorts whenever I wanted!

[@CPSmurf]

I've been a transit advocate all my life and co-founded the Utah Transit Riders Union in 2014. I've ridden UTA services since I was 10, and rode the bus from the east side where I lived to the missile plant and back for a dime. I fought the fare increase from a dime to a quarter while in middle school (and lost) and have been pushing for better transit ever since. Outside Salt Lake City, UTA is a hot mess. There are no 15 minute service east-west bus routes south of 33rd South, and only 2 north-south routes -- one on the west side and one on the east side. There's only one 15 minute bus route in Ogden, and only 2 in Utah County -- with a population of 685k. The primary reason why Salt Lake City rocks with transit -- although there are still under served areas, is that the city established a transit master plan and coordinated service with UTA. It did this by funding service that UTA could not have otherwise provided. The airport station was flubbed, most definitely. Because it wasn't actually part of the airport reconstruction, there wasn't any money for the project. The plan for a second level platform inside or next to the terminal would have cost $65 million, so the current configuration at $15 million was built instead.

[@TupyWbie]

Nice to see SLC doing some good things with transit. When I was in High School in the 70s, I remember driving in downtown and encountering a lot of trolley tracks that had been paved over as the years went by.

[@jaxontanner9822]

The original plans for the SLC airport light rail were to have it on the second story of the airport transit terminal, but they had just spent a few million building a station for the old airport a few years prior. Taxpayers didn't want to shell out the cash to completely demolish and redo what they just built, hence why it sits under and overpass.