UTA's green agenda | The Salt Lake Tribune

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

I was not surprised to read that Utah Transit Authority ridership is flat or down, despite the expansion of lines ("Despite UTA's big expansion, ridership drops," Tribune, June 14).

Ever since TRAX was proposed for Draper many years ago, I have believed that it and other UTA projects are based not on actual rider demand but on a social or "green" agenda. Time after time over the past few years, TRAX ridership projections have exceeded actual ridership.

In cases like this, where a project moves forward without an apparent demand from the public, it is wise to follow the money. UTA has received millions from the federal government to construct these projects, and TRAX riders' fares are subsidized by the state, because the system could never pay for itself.

Here's my not-so-bold prediction based on today's headline and the many headlines over the past few years: TRAX ridership to and from Draper will fall below UTA projections. We all know this, yet the project continues.

Josh Harrison

Draper