SALT LAKE CITY — More than $200,000 in funds were dedicated to providing more transportation to Salt Lake County ski resorts as ski bus services provided by Utah Transit Authority were cut back due to staffing shortages.
In total, the Salt Lake County Council appropriated $239,520 in funding.
The new "Cottonwood Connect" service is a public and private partnership funded in part by Visit Salt Lake and UTA as well as Alta Ski Area, Snowbird, Solitude Mountain and Brighton Resorts.
A fleet of mini-coaches and large passenger vans for the new service will be contracted through Snow Country Limousine and will run beginning on January 26 every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday as well as holidays.
Services will conclude on April 16.
It'll cost passengers $10 round-trip and reservations will be required. Stops will be placed throughout Midvale, Cottonwood Heights, and Sandy at various locations throughout the valley.
The capacity at the beginning of the week will be 784 passengers for Cottonwood Connect and end each week with a 1,120 passenger capacity.
County leaders hope the new service helps reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality and give visitors and provide an overall better experience recreating in Utah's mountains.
The new service comes as recreators have raised complaints over transportation issues in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons and as Utah considers building an 8-mile-long gondola to reduce traffic.
UTA announced in September that some ski bus routes would be suspended for the 2022-23 season and buses would only be taking trips every 30 minutes rather than every 15 minutes.
Officials attributed the new scheduling to a driver shortage.
