10.30.07
Morning Driver new to route
Morning
The driver said he was new to the route when I asked why we weren’t moving. I had to ask if I had somehow missed my usual bus and caught the very last one because the driver was farting around wasting time for who knew what reason. He responded that the bus was to leave at 6:45. I corrected that the 2nd-to-last bus was to depart at 6:40. He then recognized that he had been looking at the wrong part of the display and was new to the route. The newness really showed as we came off the freeway at 600 South and he failed to turn left at 400 West. Instead, he took us East to State before turning north. Trying to make the best of it, I got off at 300 S. State and made the extra distance. It was a bit of a pain but I could use the edxcercise. It is days like today that I am glad to have brought my bike along. The bike helped me make short work of an otherwise awkward bus experience.
Afternoon
2nd to the last bus was LATE once again. This time by 9 minutes. Traffic was cooperative on the freeway and the driver was able to make up all the time but one (1) minute. And by the time we made it to 7800 South we were one (1) minute ahead of schudule! You have to appreciate the disclaimer on the UTA schedules. It reads, ‘Timepoints are approximate and may vary due to road and traffic conditions.” They should probably append to that, “and driver inexperience, GPS difficulties, leaving the station on time, etc.”
10.28.07
Schedules
Looking at the schedule, paper or online, if one knows the stops along a certain route, one will notice that not all the stops are listed. While this may be a space limitation issue on the paper schedules, I don’t see why the UTA can’t list ALL available stops on the web version. For regular riders on a particular route, the ambiguity can be handled, but first-time riders trying to determine which bus to take and how close they can get to a particular spot will likely be unable to make the “right” decision because of omitted information. Trying to read into the schedule using the map doesn’t work because only the ROUTE can be seen and not the stops along it, at least for my fast-bus route. There are only two options of know of to find out the real stops for fast and express buses: Call the UTA operators, drive the mapped route from the schedule and look at each busstop signpost to see if the bus number you seek is listed (because the fast bus doesn’t stop at EVERY busstop along the way)
I believe the UTA would benefit by increased ridership if they would make the *real* schedule available to the public.
10.25.07
Morning
Right on time. 
I got to the stop for the earlier bus this morning to shake up my everyday commute. We were treated to a coach-style bus. I was able to stake out a good seat (there are 2 of them, one in front of the other, on the left side about 1/3 of the way back. For some reason, the coach buses are always configured this way as far as I have seen in 10 months of commuting. These seats have more leg room. I am not a tall fellow requiring the leg room but I frequently use my laptop on the bus and when the seat in front of you is reclined and hits your computer screen things start feeling mighty cramped. So I attempt to capture one of these coveted seats on the coach buses.
Afternoon
Late by six (6) minutes. I was beginning to wonder if it came early and I had missed it. (note to self: Must work on self-doubt.) They sent an old city-style. Not my favorite but it is better than peddling or walking all the way to the south end of the valley. AND they had plenty of room for my bicycle and I. Lots of elbow room. Even though the bus was late picking me up, the driver made up the time on the freeway.
10.24.07
Last bus ‘o the day
Afternoon
I was delayed in a meeting at work until after five pm and had to catch the last bus of the day. I hate to try for the last one in the case that all the bike slots are full. I would be forced to take the SLOW trax and stand with my bike in the stairwell area. Yuck! Alas, the bike rack was empty BUT I found no available seats. Another gentleman and myself had to stand, clinging to poles, for a good portion of the ride. Still better than trax!
Many times when I take my bike on the bus the driver will hand me a laminated card (about 4″x11″) to hold for the bus ride. I have never really figured out what this card does. Because it lists lost-and-found information I GUESS it serves the purpose of reminding me to get my bike and accessories when I exit the bus. Today I asked the driver as I exited and she explained to me that when I hand this card to the driver it means “I am going to step in front of the bus” so they are to set the parking brake. Every new rule and law exist for the reason to prevent a previous occurrence of something perceived bad. I have to wonder how many cyclists were run over before the UTA figured out this lifesaver.
10.23.07
Perfect commute
This is a truly rare moment to experience and savor. The bus was on time BOTH ways today. Traffic just flowed nicely and I get to my stops just a hair early! Hooray for the UTA!!!
10.20.07
Tokens!
I don’t ride quite every day so I don’t purchase a pass. My employer will buy me either a monthly transit pass or a parking pass to the Gateway (where I work). My schedule is just unreliable enough that I take the offered parking pass and pay for each bus trip I make with cash. Let me say that $1.60 is a very inconvenient amount to carry around. And then sometimes I spend the change on a snack or something, forgetting my bus fare obligation. Enter the token. The token is an easy way to carry around a convenient, 1 coin, non-spendable fare. I like the token. It only makes sense to purchase the token in bulk so that I do not have to carry around $1.60 to exchange for it before every transit ride. Besides, there are precious few stops where they can be purchased. If you purchase them at one of the handful of Trax stops that dispense them, you must take your chance that the machine is stocked and that it has change for you. Looking for the address of the downtown SLC UTA office so I could more conveniently buy tokens and get correct change, I searched the www.utabus.com website and learned that I can purchase tokens at many grocery store service counters around the valley. Now this is convenient! Not only easy to get some at my local grocery in South Jordan, but they are for sale in quantities of 10! Only $14.25 for the complete set of ten.
UTA GPS
I was wondering why the UTA didn’t give GPS units to all buses to aid the drivers (especially new ones or new to the route in question) when I just learned that the LCD display screen in front of the driver is just that! It not only communicates where the driver is to turn with written directions (sorry, fellas, no map display) but also has the current time and countdown till the next stop. In addition, it communicates back to the head office the bus’ current position. So why can’t the drivers be on-time? Outside of unavoidable traffic issues, taking too long at stops, a bad attitude, or just plain negligence, I DON’T KNOW!
Earlier in the year when waiting for a bus that was 10 minutes late and trying decide a corrective course of action (Trax or call my wife) I phoned the UTA on their publicly posted number (the digits for ride-uta), the call-taker couldn’t seem to tell me anything about the bus except, “It should be there by now.” So if this positional data is indeed being tracked at the head bus station, it must not be available to the call operators which is a real shame. With a little technology boost, the public could have access to this information on their phones and other wireless devices to help them breathe easy. Since buses are NOT reliably on time, this could be a big boon to all wireless connected travelers.
10.19.07
Late again2!
Morning
I arrived at the usual stop this morning at 5 minutes before the bus should come. In times past, since this is the first stop of the fast-bus route, I would often pull up to see the bus idling and I could climb aboard out of the chill. Not this morning, however. I waited and waited in the cold. I wish the UTA could get their act together on this item.
Afternoon
The ride home was no better than the morning ride. I waited 10 minutes PAST the stated pick-up time until a bus showed. The driver denied being late. What is a poor commuter to do?
10.18.07
Late again?
Morning
Morning bus is late again. Arriving at 6:39 to my stop, the bus was nowhere to be seen. This shouldn’t be. Since mine is the first stop of my fast-bus route from the south end of the valley, the bus should be here waiting for me. It arrived 1 minute late and then the driver proceeded to take his sweet time to do whatever it is that drivers do to “prep” their bus before it can leave the first stop. I don’t know what the hold up was, but we finally left at 6:44 (4 minutes late).
At least I don’t have to transfer to another bus and worry about missing it! 
10.16.07
And on The third day…
Afternoon
My timepiece read 16:55, so I wrapped up my work activities and prepared my backpack. It took shorter than expected to get my bike down the elevator at work and down 3 blocks to the bus stop. I waited just 3 minutes and then along came a bus with my number of it. Sooner than I expected! It was a city-style bus with just one of the two front bike racks empty. I loaded my bike and tried to find a seat. It was very crowded. I learned that most of the people sitting near me were not happy, as this was the earlier bus than I usually catch, but had been running late. To make matters worse, the driver was new and didn’t know the route so he enters the wrong freeway and then tries to correct himself by exiting and winding through town. He finally made it back to his route with the help of the riders at the front. What a stressful job, bus driver. With a payload full of critics sitting just over your shoulder. The UTA puts a large LCD display on the dash of each of the buses that tells the driver the current time. Can’t the UTA add GPS functionality for the sake of drivers and passengers alike? With the side-trip, we are late to our destinations, of course.
