Utah Transit Authority’s UTA On Demand service achieves 1 million rides; helps agency pace with the Salt Lake City area’s booming population growth
UTA On Demand’s ridership signifies successful use of tech and innovation to build a resilient, interconnected network
May 28, 2024 (SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH) — Utah Transit Authority’s app-based transit service, UTA On Demand, has surpassed 1 million completed rides and has grown ridership by more than 50% since this time last year.
UTA’s decision to introduce UTA On Demand with Via in 2019 was part of the agency’s broader ambitions to integrate more technology and innovation into the network. The goal was to improve access to opportunity for all people, especially those with disabilities; to increase transit coverage; and to provide an all-day service, including providing the first-and last-mile connections to the larger transit system where ridership does not efficiently warrant fixed route service. UTA On Demand provides UTA with the ability to expand transit coverage in emerging areas, build a healthy foundation of riders and analyze their demand patterns, and eventually building ridership to inform fixed routes.
UTA On Demand provides connections in four geographic zones serving neighborhoods in three counties. The flexible, convenient transit option uses virtual bus stops to extend the reach of the network’s fixed routes. The 2024 data reveals that over one-fifth of UTA On Demand rides connect with UTA’s other transit modes.
As a result of its continued success, the program has expanded capacity every year and today provides broad transit coverage across four zones for residents in rural, suburban, and urban areas of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area.
UTA On Demand’s technology and operations are powered by TransitTech provider Via, which works with hundreds of communities in the U.S. to create integrated, tech-enabled public transit networks.
For more information about UTA On Demand, please visit: www.rideuta.com/Services/UTA-On-Demand.
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About Utah Transit Authority
Established in 1970, the Utah Transit Authority is a multimodal public transportation agency that serves six counties along the Wasatch Front and provides tens of millions of passenger rides each year. UTA’s fleet is ADA accessible and offers bus, streetcar, light rail, commuter rail, Bus Rapid Transit, fixed-route bus, Express Bus, paratransit, vanpool, and UTA On Demand services.
About Via
Founded in 2012, Via pioneered the TransitTech category by using new technologies to develop public mobility systems — optimizing networks of buses, shuttles, wheelchair-accessible vehicles, school buses, autonomous vehicles, and electric vehicles around the globe. Building the world’s most efficient, equitable, and sustainable transportation network for all passengers — including those with limited mobility, those without smartphones, and unbanked populations — Via works with its partners to lower the costs of public transit while providing transportation options that rival the convenience of a personal car while reducing environmental impact. At the intersection of transportation and technology, Via is a visionary market leader that combines software innovation with sophisticated service design and operational expertise to fundamentally improve the way the world moves, providing technology in 700 communities and more than 35 countries and counting.