UTA says fares will stay put despite rising gas prices

SALT LAKE CITY — It won’t cost you a dime more to ride Trax, FrontRunner, or UTA buses even as the cost of diesel goes up.

“UTA has no plans at the moment to increase fares,” UTA spokesman Carl Arky told KSL NewsRadio.

But raising fares is not totally out of the question for this year. An analysis of UTA’s operating costs is planned for the second quarter this year, according to Arky.

However, just because gas costs more doesn’t mean fares are tied to that. 

“Just a simple increase in fuel prices doesn’t automatically mean there’ll be an increase in fares,” he said.

Arky said fares are just a part —albeit a large part— of their total operating costs.  UTA approved a fare policy back in November of 2020 that said they would analyze fares, “at least every two years.”

And that policy, Arky said, is what will start in the coming months. 

“We’ll consider the gas prices and all the other factors that go into the overall picture of running UTA, the operational expenses”, he said. “And until the analysis and recommendations are complete, fares will not change.”  

UTA is one of the largest consumers of diesel fuel in the state. Arky added that UTA did budget for at least some of the rise in fuel prices, even before the war in Ukraine accelerated the strain on energy prices. 

Related: UTA gives safety tips after FrontRunner car crash

 

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