By paul rolly

| The Salt Lake Tribune

The Utah Transit Authority’s holiday schedule seems to have a problem, although UTA executives thought they were using pretty good logic when they put it together.

UTA riders were informed there would be no service for TRAX or FrontRunner on Christmas.

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Makes sense.

Monday, the day after Christmas, was relegated to the typical Sunday service. TRAX and FrontRunner would still operate, but not as frequently as on a weekday.

New Year’s Day, on Sunday, will have no service.

OK. So far, so good.

But Monday, Jan. 2, also will have no service.

Some wondered whether UTA feared drivers would still be nursing hangovers. But spokesman Gerry Carpenter said Monday is a federal holiday, most places of business and government offices will be closed and ridership is expected to be quite low. So for budget considerations, it was deemed to be prudent to halt service that day, even though it burdens those unfortunate souls who still have to get around on Monday.

Carpenter said TRAX and FrontRunner still operated on Monday, Dec. 26, also a federal holiday, because that is typically a heavy shopping day.

There is only one problem with that logic.

This coming Monday, when there will be no service, a Utah Jazz game is scheduled at EnergySolutions Arena. Jazz games attract about 20,000 people to the downtown area and several thousand take TRAX to the game.

Carpenter said at the time UTA made the schedule, the NBA lockout had not been resolved and no games were scheduled. By the time the Jazz schedule was formalized, the UTA driver schedules were already completed, so there will be no changes.

Jazz fans, you’re on your own.

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But they do listen • I wrote in September about the stranding of commuters in the South Jordan area after the UTA scrapped express bus route 327 from South Jordan to downtown Salt Lake City because of the new Daybreak TRAX line. After numerous complaints, the UTA established a shuttle from southwest quadrant areas to the TRAX line, route 527.

But some wondered if that shuttle was set up to fail. The services only ran at 5:30 and 6 a.m. in the morning and 6:30 and 7 p.m. in the evening. That was way too early in the morning for most people going to work and way too late in the evening for those going home.

But since I wrote that column, UTA has tried to be more accommodating.