Salt Lake City School District providing free UTA passes to students, guardians
Aug 31, 2023, 1:00 PM | Updated: 7:09 pm
The Salt Lake City School District and the Utah Transit Authority announce that the UTA will offer free bus passes to students, staff, faculty, and new this year, student guardians, this year. (UTA Marketing)
(UTA Marketing)
SALT LAKE CITY — Students, faculty, and staff across the Salt Lake City School District will get a free pass to ride most UTA buses and trains this year.
It’s the second year the district has teamed up with UTA and city officials to offer the free pass program.
“This partnership provides more mobility options for students and promotes increased transit use, attendance, extra-curricular participation, and improved air quality,” Carl Arky, UTA spokesperson, said in a press release.
The addition of a Guardian Pass is something new this year.
Arky said the Guardian Pass allows a parent or guardian from each household in the district to “go with kids to and from school, and other events.”
UTA will offer one Guardian Pass per student household.
Students, a guardian, Salt Lake City School District faculty, and staff can use the pass on UTA buses, TRAX, the S-Line Streetcar, and UTA On Demand for a full calendar year.
However, Frontrunner, Ski-Bus, paratransit, and PC-SLC Connect are not included. For a small fee, students can upgrade their pass for access to those options.
A successful first year
During the 2022-2023 school year, Arky said the number of unique UTA users increased by 645%. That amounted to 3,000 riders per month on average.
He said that the number of pass holders who continued to ride UTA in the summer months is “also encouraging.”
Related:
- SLC School District announces new superintendent
- Salt Lake City School Board to get list of possible elementary school closures Tuesday
- SLC School District audit reports declining enrollment, low capacity
