UTA decreasing ski bus service due to driver shortage
Sep 27, 2023, 6:30 PM | Updated: Oct 25, 2023, 11:14 am
Backcountry skiers make use of the record-breaking snowpack to make some turns at Alta Ski Area, which is closed for the season, on Friday, June 2, 2023. (Spenser Heaps/Deseret News)
(Spenser Heaps/Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — UTA ski bus service this winter will be scaled back again because of a driver shortage.
UTA Spokesperson Carl Arky said last year the Utah Transit Authority had to reduce the number of ski buses going into the canyons. That reduction is going to continue.
According to Arky, UTA put some of its best drivers on those canyon routes.
“They’re very good at handling a 40-foot bus with 40 people on board,” he said. “And then, going down the hill and encountering snow and, possibly, patches of ice, they are trained for that. They’re very experienced at that.”
Additionally, he said UTA is going to use vans to try and reduce congestion on the buses they are running.
“UTA will provide the vans to the resorts,” he said. “And then, the resorts will organize their employees, and hopefully they can put together van pools … That’ll open up a lot of space on the bus for people who are actually skiing.”
Arky blames the route reduction on staffing shortages caused by difficulty in recruitment.
