Efficiency improvements related to Intermodal Hub area needed.

Various things have emerged in the week since the Frontrunner service began, and it brings up some interesting and valuable service improvements that will enhance UTA's ISO 9001 program when it comes to overall efficiency of the system.

1. All Utah County routes that come into Downtown Salt Lake, the 801, 802, 803, 804, 805, and 807, plus the Saturday 816, and the one trip that 817 does in the Afternoon when that trip runs, should come directly Downtown and straight to the hub. From there, users would simply hop TRAX or Frontrunner from there to get to destinations that the same above routes serve right now. After all, once there, you can catch any one of a number of buses to get to the final destination of your trip.

2. Similarly terminate a number of trips for other buses that do not presently visit the Intermodal Hub, namely Avenues, U of U (besides TRAX), some eastside trips like the 209, and other Intercounty express trips like the 451 and most FastBus service there as well. Again this will improve connection to and from Frontrunner for additional key routes in Salt Lake, Tooele, and Davis Counties.

One side issue is where to park the buses between trips? I'm not sure, I'm not that familiar with the area, but there should be a solution out there for that.

3. Additional TRAX bays. Two exist now, but what about when Mid-Jordan, West Valley, and the Airport line, and the barely being discussed plan for a Davis County line? I'm thinking two more are needed, thus making four bays, that way you could have eight total lines running out of the hub, and that along with the above mentioned bus routes coming in would truly make this the major transportation center it could be, and not look half-dead like it does now between trains.

These three items will bring UTA more into compliance with all known reasonable customer and public expectations that are part and parcel with the knowledge that UTA subscribes to ISO 9001, and will, along with all other items I have or will mention in this blog, give the public at large a better opinion of the ISO standard as put into practice by UTA.