Soaring Gasoline Prices Could Force ISO 9001 Changes to August Redesign, Routes in Other Areas.

The soaring prices of gas look like they will force major changes to the much-vaunted route redesign in Salt Lake along with forcing additions to service in other areas, and much of that I've already outlined or will outline later.

Basically, much of the service is centered around the major highways outside of Salt Lake County, and 'inside the beltway' in Salt Lake County. Outside of those areas, you are as good as screwed if you want to save gas and take the bus into work, to shop or go to the doctor or to school, or elsewhere during the middle of the day, and in some fast-growing areas, not at all.

It is possible gas prices are going to reach $4 or even $5 a gallon in 2008, and this is going to cause alot of people to want to use mass transit to get to and from even everyday business and leisure, let alone the commute. Some park and ride lots in Utah County are jammed the day they are opened, or so it now seems. Promised expansions have not happened, and one existing lot has been hemmed in by a new development across the road from it.

All because of the insistence on following ISO 9001. Now that same process management system will trip them up so bad they will have to change things and add much more service, taxing the available resources to the limit, forcing them to bring buses out of the 'boneyard' that is just to the south of their main offices in Salt Lake, and trying to hire even more drivers, never mind the shortfall that exists already of about 80 drivers needed.

And if there is a war that disrupts oil supplies, such as what will happen if the US goes in and bombs Iran's nuclear facilities, or goes into other Mideast areas to root out terrorists, including al-Qaida, then we've got serious issues that UTA is not even ready for. The major impact of such action would be gas rationing, mandatory no-drive days based on street address, and other Federal government controls. Mass transit will have much more demand now than today as a result.

Comments welcome.