Image courtesy UTA.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Transit Authority’s S-line just turned two years old this week, and officials say ridership on the streetcar is exceeding their expectations.
The S-Line runs east from the Central Pointe TRAX station trough the heart of Sugar House to McClelland Street and Fairmont Park.
There have been 363,000 boardings on the S-Line so far this year, which marks a 19 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
“This is more than what we had projected, and more than what we had projected in our documentation, so everyone’s thrilled with it obviously,” UTA Spokesman Remi Barron said.
The S-Line streetcar has a top speed of 25 miles per hour and runs alongside a bike trail and jogging path. It makes seven stops along the two-mile stretch of track. For route information, visit UTA’s website.
Finny Wiggen
The sad thing is that despite exceeding their ridership expectations, it is still a money losing venture.
What does that say about UTA’s planning and businesses prowess?
Just FYI
Actually if you did some research before your comment you would know that the s-line was requested and allot of it was paid for by the cities that it is in. UTA just operates the system. Just thought you should know before you jump to conclusions about UTA. But obviously you know best and have the data to support your claim.
Finny Wiggen
Sounds like someone has a bias…
I understand the issue intimately and have done my research.
Incidentally you are incorrect. The bulk of the funding came from a federal grant, not the cities….
The line runs in the red. In other words, it loses money. That is an unavoidable reality.
Despite getting more riders than they expected, they still are not breaking even financially.