This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2006, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Bus and train commuters had their first crack at Utah Transit Authority's changes to 53 bus routes plus slightly off-kilter TRAX schedules on Monday, and, as expected, many riders were confused when they landed on TRAX platforms not knowing of time changes or waited for buses that never came.

The UTA, in order to trim $1 million from its budget, enhanced some services, eliminated others, combined bus routes with nearby low-ridership routes and gave some of the new routes the numbers of the now-nonexistent routes.

The uncertainty of where to go for the first legs of both morning and evening commutes was enough to cause dedicated transit riders Rick Rozsa and Doug Hendry to give it at least a day to settle down.

The two are co-workers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture at 2222 W. 2300 South, where many people use transit because it is a federal perk. Monday morning, they reported they didn't know of anyone who had taken route 35 or 41, the buses that serve their location.

"We could not find out where to pick up the return routes," said Rozsa, a South Mountain resident. "That's the same problem everyone [has had] I've talked to."

Hendry, a USDA computer system manager who lives in downtown Salt Lake City, used to take TRAX to the 2100 South platform and catch the westbound route 35 there. Now the 35 leaves from 2100 South, but not the TRAX stop, so he has to take a bus the whole way. That, he said, has added 10 to 15 minutes to his 25-minute commute.

UTA supervisors were assigned to TRAX and bus stops to help riders navigate, and will do so again today and Wednesday.

Overall, the morning went as well as any other major change day, even though UTA's help line got swamped periodically through the morning hours, said Cindy Medford, UTA's customer-help call service manager.

Most confused were riders who only take the bus during bad weather and missed learning of the changes until too late. During Monday morning's snowstorm, some stood at familiar stops waiting for a canceled bus, Medford said.

UTA posted change notices on as many bus stop signs as they could Saturday, said Steve Swan, UTA service planner. New schedules were available on the buses, riders who purchased passes online got advisory e-mails and UTA took out full-page newspaper ads on April 9 and April 16, the day the changes went into effect.

Kearns Community Councilman Chuck McDowell said his constituents were upset about the changes, which largely focused on the Salt Lake Valley's west side.

The Kearns representatives argued over cuts in service to north and south Kearns, and successfully pushed for bus routes that would serve recreation centers, Hunter High School and the Olympic speed skating oval. They also convinced UTA to enhance westbound night service, McDowell said.