At $5.50 for a one-way trip between Park City and Salt Lake City, the new bus service starting in October to link the Wasatch Front and the Wasatch Back won't come cheap. But, then, mass transit is hardly ever cheap.

Either it is paid for primarily by taxpayers or by riders who pay fares. Or both. A much-needed express bus route between the east side of Salt Lake City and Summit County will tap both.

The proposed fares, including a $242 monthly pass, although steep, are probably not enough to pay for the UTA route. Summit County and Park City each have agreed to fork over $235,000 to underwrite losses the first year as the new system gets up and running. We believe the two government entities may have to continue a subsidy much further into the future, maybe indefinitely. And we believe the service would be worth it.

An interlocal agreement among the Utah Transit Authority, Park City and ParkCity/Summit County Transit will create the first transit link connecting Salt Lake City and Park City since World War II. Residents of both sides of the Wasatch Mountains now make their way through Parleys Canyon in their own cars, and that is the most inefficient and dirtiest method of all. The Utah Transportation Commission has made widening Interstate 80 a priority to handle the growing traffic.

However, a well-used transit route would be a much better solution. Putting more people in buses would reduce air pollution and possibly eliminate the perceived need for more asphalt, which only encourages more driving, causing more pollution, ad infinitum.

Under a law passed by the Utah Legislature this year, UTA is now able to reach outside its formal district boundaries to extend bus service to areas already served by a different transit district. Western Summit County residents have for years enjoyed a fare-free bus system connecting resorts and historic Main Street with neighborhoods and retail centers near Kimball Junction.

It makes sense to connect the two systems. To save money, the UTA route could stop short of the resorts but let riders coordinate stops with the existing Park City transit system.

The $11 round-trip fare may not be within reach for service workers who can't afford to live where they work in Summit County. Some sort of subsidy for low-income riders may be needed. The system will be economically feasible only if people use it. Given the price of gasoline, many people may find the costly fare a sensible alternative.