A lot of bus passengers will notice big changes when Light Rail is up and running. And that may be sooner than you think.
News Specialist John Hollenhorst reports.
Get ready for a different kind of a ride. Test runs are nearly a daily occurrence now around 70th South. The passengers are invited guests, in this case relatives of light-rail employees.
TOM ARANT/RELATIVE OF EMPLOYEE: "WELL, IT'S COMFORTABLE, IT'S AIR CONDITIONED, YOU CAN GET FROM POINT A TO POINT B QUICKLY. "
But light-rail will be a major life-style shift for those accustomed to buses.
BILL DEPEW/BUS PASSENGER: "NO, IT DOESN'T WORRY ME. BUT I'M GOING TO STAY WITH THE BUS."
But UTA will force some changes. About a third of the valley's bus routes are being redesigned into a primarily east-west configuration, converging on light-rail train stations.
Like it or not, many bus passengers will become TRAX customers.
BILL DEPEW/BUS PASSENGER: "WELL, I WILL, THEN, IF IT'S EASY ENOUGH FOR ME TO DO THAT, THEN THAT'S WHAT I'LL DO."GERRY PACHUCKI/U.T.A.: "FOR MOST OF THEM ARE GOING TO SEE THE SAME BUS SERVICE THEY HAD BEFORE. BUT INSTEAD OF GOING DIRECTLY DOWNTOWN, THEY'RE GOING TO END UP AT A RAIL STATION."
JOHN HOLLENHORST/EYEWITNESS NEWS: "THE THEORY IS THAT, ONCE THOSE BUS-RIDERS ARE ON THE TRAIN, THEY'LL BE ZOOMING! 55 MILES AN HOUR TOP SPEED. AVERAGE FROM SANDY TO DOWNTOWN, ABOUT 30 MILES AN HOUR."
Transfers will be free. A buck will get you anywhere in the system by bus or train.
Depending on where people live and work, some commutes will be quicker. But some will take longer.
GERRY PACHUCKI/U.T.A.: "MANY MORE WILL BENEFIT THAN THOSE WHO MAY SEE SOME KIND OF INCREASE. MANY MORE."
The brief battle over bus route 21 could be mirrored elsewhere. But UTA hopes bus passengers will give TRAX a chance to prove itself.
CORALIE ALDER/U.T.A.: "IT WILL BE A TRIAL AND ERROR PERIOD AS WE GET THE SYSTEM UP AND RUNNING. AND WE CERAINLY WILL ADJUST IT TO MAKE IT AS EFFICIENT AS POSSIBLE FOR EVERYBODY."
The big question is, "When will TRAX open for business?"
It could be by the end of the year, possibly in time for Christmas shopping season. The UTA board meets later this month to pick the opening date.
