I’ve ridden the UTA transportation system for almost my entire life, whether that be to school, work or social events, and it has not only helped me but my entire family out. I do not come from a very wealthy background and live in a low-income area where my mom’s job barely gets us by.
Needless to say, there have been times in my life when my family hasn’t had access or the privilege to own a car and we’d rely on the UTA transportation system to get us from Point A to Point B. And although this alternative of transportation is a lot cheaper than owning a car, purchasing a HIVE bus pass every month adds up in cost.
Currently, my mom pays for three HIVE bus passes, which are $42 per month, so that brings her monthly total to $126.
My intention for writing this letter is to make the head of transportation aware that this cost is far too high and challenging to maintain when we could have free transportation.
In February of this year, the UTA transportation system did a trial experiment and made all transportation fares free to the public.
The outcome of this experiment had amazing results that proved residents in Utah who constantly use this mode of transportation benefited from free fares.
In the statistics report, it also showed that 14,800 more people rode the UTA than usual each weekday, with an increase of 16% over the riders who already use UTA and need it on a daily basis. It’s clear, based on the results of the experiment, that making the UTA fare free has only benefited everyone with no negative results.
Having the UTA transportation system free for residents is a great thing, and while we’re helping each other we’re also saving the environment from pollution and preserving our Earth for our future kin.
Angelica Crandall, Salt Lake City
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