(cross-posted to Utah Legislature Watch)
Utah Policy editors have published a piece on options for transportation of school children.
Currently, the Salt Lake City School District uses Utah Transit Authority for some of its school transportation needs. Many private schools also rely on UTA for student transportation.
Today, UTA bus routes obviously aren’t maximized for school needs. But within a couple of years, UTA’s backbone will be completed with new TRAX lines to Draper, South Jordan, West Valley, and the airport, and FrontRunner south to Provo.
Once those lines are completed, the next big program will be fill-in projects with streetcars, bus rapid transit, neighborhood bus service, bike trails, and walking trails. At that point, public transit service will be ubiquitous across the Wasatch Front, serving almost all neighborhoods. The overall transit system will then be robust enough to accommodate needs of older students.
This might be worth considering if mass transportation wasn’t still facing significant reductions in service due to budget woes. But until there is a firm commitment to mass transportation without constantly being under the financial axe, such ideas will not be realized.
Dream on.
Dee's 'Dotes~Anecdotes of a Green Activist 