Six weeks into the Moab-Arches shuttle pilot, passengers interviewed Oct. 15 described both the convenience of leaving their vehicles behind and frustration with waits that cut into their plans.

Sev Giesswein, visiting Arches National Park from Cologne, Germany, said the service was easy to navigate, drivers were friendly and waits were about 10 minutes.

“The shuttle was the perfect tool for experiencing the park,” he said.

Miguel Cristobal, visiting from Mexico with his traveling companion, had hoped the shuttle would be easier than driving their RV through Arches. But with an off-highway vehicle tour booked in the afternoon, the waits left them rushing to Double Arch and back.

“We loved the park. We hated the shuttle,” he said.

The Times-Independent rode the shuttle and interviewed a handful of passengers that Thursday, a sunny day following several rainy days. A large tour group contributed to demand for seats. For its members, waits and plans to return to town for lunch limited their time to explore.

Newly released Grand County figures provide a broader view of the service’s first month: 2,593 boardings in September, averaging about 86 a day. Those count repeat rides and transfers, rather than unique passengers.

County spokesperson Melisa Jeffers said a Nov. 16 review of fall operations will help shape spring service, including routes, stops, service frequency, staffing, communications and reporting accuracy, within the existing agreement and budget.

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How the service works

Grand County initiated the roughly $3 million shuttle pilot to reduce congestion and give visitors another way to experience Arches. Funding includes $1.5 million from the National Park Service, $1 million from the Utah Department of Transportation and $500,000 from Grand County.

The free service began carrying passengers Sept. 1, connecting Moab with the Arches Visitor Center. Riders transfer there to an in-park route serving the Delicate Arch trailhead and the Windows. Visitors can also drive to the visitor center and board there. A valid park pass is required.

Via operates the service under contract with Grand County. Scheduled pickups are every 30 minutes on the Moab route and every 15 minutes on the in-park route. Signs provide QR codes linking to routes and schedules.

The shuttle is optional and does not serve Devils Garden or most other destinations. Visitors can continue driving through the park.

Fall service ends Oct. 31. The funded pilot includes spring service scheduled for March 1 through June 30. Whether the shuttle continues beyond the pilot, and how it would be funded, remains undecided.

Waiting, then sightseeing

At the Moab Information Center around 9:35 a.m. Oct. 15, a large tour group traveling from Kansas City was already waiting. The group’s leader said they had waited nearly an hour and that the scheduled 9:15 a.m. shuttle had not arrived.

Via, responding through Jeffers, said its system recorded a shuttle arrival and a 9:22 a.m. departure from the Moab Information Center.

A shuttle arrived shortly after the reporter, but it did not have room for the entire group. Remaining passengers waited for another.

At the Arches Visitor Center, an approaching shuttle’s destination wasn’t always immediately clear. Small destination signs were visible near the doors on some buses, but passengers repeatedly asked drivers whether they were headed farther into the park or back to Moab.

Once aboard, riders photographed the scenery through the windows and asked about rock formations and wildlife. For some, it was their first look at red rock country.

Nancy Marks, traveling with the tour group, appreciated the driver’s commentary.

“Riding the shuttle was great. We had a great guide explaining things well, and we saw a lot of things,” she said.

But she worried about catching another ride.

“We were scared to get out. We didn’t know when we could catch the next shuttle back,” she said.

On one in-park ride, the shuttle waited roughly 10 minutes in traffic approaching the Delicate Arch parking lot. Nobody aboard got off. Tour group members said they were running behind and needed to return to town.

At the Windows, the driver let passengers off while queued in traffic. Passengers reboarded the same bus at the designated stop after a brief visit.

Why riders chose the shuttle

Cristobal said parking had been easier when they drove their RV into Arches the previous rainy day, and he would have preferred driving again had he known how long the shuttle waits would be.

Giesswein learned about the service from an employee at their Moab RV resort. QR codes at the stops helped them identify routes, schedules and the stops closest to their destinations.

“The bus stops were clearly visible. No problems finding them at all,” he said.

Andre Debaz, visiting from Switzerland, had parked an RV at the visitor center and waited about 15 minutes for a shuttle. Unfamiliar with driving the RV, he preferred letting someone else navigate.

He suggested an express lane that would allow shuttles to bypass waiting cars, giving visitors a faster alternative to driving.

“Overall, I was really happy with the shuttle bus and glad I don’t have to drive,” Debaz said.

What September’s figures show

The county’s September report shows average daily boardings increased from about 69 during the first full week to 115 during the fourth. The county cautions that one month is not enough to distinguish that growth from seasonal visitation patterns.

Of the 2,593 boardings, 411 occurred at Moab stops and 2,182 inside Arches. Visitor center counts combine passengers transferring from Moab with visitors who drove there, without distinguishing between them.

Arches recorded about 158,000 recreation visits that month, according to preliminary National Park Service figures.

Jeffers said boardings provide the most complete count because drivers check riders’ park passes. The spreadsheet recorded 2,197 drop-offs. She said Via identified gaps in drop-off reporting, including at visitor center transfers, and is correcting them.

The county estimates September shuttle use avoided about 170 car trips from Moab into Arches and 385 trips into the Delicate Arch and Windows parking lots.

Jeffers said the calculations use shuttle counts and the Park Service’s seasonal average of 2.4 people per vehicle for September through January.

The estimates assume riders would otherwise have traveled by car; they do not measure actual changes in traffic. Because one visitor’s journey can include both entering the park and traveling to a trailhead, the two estimates should not be added together.

What visitors wrote

The county classified 26 of 39 September shuttle comments as favorable overall. The remaining comments were mixed, critical or suggestions only.

Sixteen comments praised drivers or staff and 12 requested more or additional destinations inside the park. Individual comments could address multiple topics.

Some respondents expressed both appreciation and frustration. A Sept. 12 respondent reported waiting 40 minutes at the Moab Rock Shop and difficulty determining where in-park shuttles were headed.

“That said, the shuttle was easy to use and we will use it again,” the respondent wrote.

A Sept. 23 respondent described an on-time trip from Moab to Delicate Arch and back to town in under five hours.

“I did not rush. I enjoyed my time at Delicate Arch and all of the people along the way,” the respondent wrote.

Suggestions included clearer destination signs and additional stops at places such as Devils Garden and the Delicate Arch viewpoint.

The comments came through a voluntary National Park Service form and are not a representative survey of passengers.

Adjusting the service

Jeffers said the county removed the Maverik stop Oct. 6 because ridership did not justify the cost of serving it. The stop recorded 25 boardings in September.

“Decisions like this are what the pilot is designed to inform,” she said.

Commissioners approved adding attendant services to Via’s contract Oct. 6. Attendants would provide visitor information and help coordinate parking and shuttle service at busy trailheads. Jeffers said the Park Service and Via were expected to sign the required permit the week of Oct. 12, with a limited test being explored to guide spring deployment. No attendants were present at the stops visited Oct. 15.

The county plans to publish data monthly as the pilot continues.

Debbie Marshall, who traveled with her husband, Dan, and the Kansas City tour group, would have liked to see more of Arches. But they appreciated seeing the highlights when strenuous hikes were not something they felt able to do.

“It’s just unbelievable,” Marshall said. “I’m just thankful I’m able to see what I’ve seen.”

This story was first published by The Times-Independent.