Elevated Transit

This article is about the Elevated Transit bus line in Utah, United States. For general information on elevated transportation and elevated transit lines, see Rapid transit.
Elevated Tranist

An Elevated Transit bus at the
Provo Intermodal Center
Slogan Travel the HIGH way[1]
Parent Wasatch Transportation
Founded 2 October 2013
Commenced operation 13 August 2014[2]
Headquarters 42 North 100 East, Suite 1[3]
American Fork, Utah 84003
United States
(888) ELEVATE (353-8283)
Service area Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Utah
Service type Coach
Alliance Part of Greyhound Connect
Routes 2
Stops
Destinations
Fleet 3 Glaval Synergy buses
3 Thomas HDX buses
Chief executive Steven Fuller[2]
Website elevatedtransit.com

Elevated Transit is a regional intercity bus company in Utah, United States that connects the central, eastern, and southeastern areas of the state (Carbon, Grand, Emery, Juab, San Juan, Sanpete, and Sevier counties) with the Wasatch Front, specifically Provo and Salt Lake City. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wasatch Transportation[4] and is an official Greyhound Connect company.

Description

Elevated Transit provides daily routes in both directions throughout its service area, plus some additional roundtrip runs Thursday through Monday.[5] Its headquarters are at 42 North 100 East, Suite 1 in American Fork.[3] Its parent company, Wasatch Transportation, has (as of 2016) been in operating in Utah for nearly 30 years, but has specialized in special needs and school transportation.[4] Elevated Transit's slogan is Travel the HIGH way.[1] Seating is first-come, first-served and smoking is prohibited on Elevated Transit vehicles.[6]

The bus line was created to provide bus service to the central, eastern, and southeastern areas of the state that previously lacked public transportation. It began operating with substantial financial support from the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) and Greyhound Lines.[Note 1] Between UDOT and Greyhound, Elevated Transit will receive $864,000 per year for its first five years of operation.[8] According to CEO Steven Fuller, it is hoped that the initial funding will allow the company to grow "to the point that public funds are no longer needed and it will self-sustain."[4] The service is intended to connect with existing Greyhound service, as well as other transit systems along the routes.[2]

Current Fleet

Elevated Transit Thomas HDX bus interior

Elevated Transit's fleet included two models of 35-passenger buses (Glaval Synergy[2] and Thomas HDX) with three of each model. The Glaval Synergy have compartments that have the capacity to hold a limited number of bicycles. However in anticipation of multiple passengers desiring to transport bicycles to the Moab area, the buses have the ability to tow a bicycle trailer.[Note 2]The Thomas HDX model are most often used for school buses, but is occasionally modified (as for Elevated Transit) for commercial transport.[2][1] Both buses have Wi-Fi, available satellite TV, lavatories, wheelchair access, additional space for baggage and bicycles[10][1]

History

Decades ago, Greyhound provide more extensive bus service in rural Utah than it does today, but most of these routes were abandoned years ago[11] For quite a few years replacement service has been sought and a similar proposed bus service was close to realization in 2012. This service was to be provided by the Salt Lake Express,[Note 3] however, the proposal fell through when Salt Lake Express's buses couldn't meet the required Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. The contract was opened again for bidding, with the proposal from Wasatch Transportation being accepted.[10] About a year later the new subsidiary company (Elevated Transit) received its transportation license on 3 October 2013.

After several false starts, Elevated Transit began operating on 13 August 2014.[2] Original plans were to commence operations in late April, then mid June, but buses did not begin running until August. The later-than-planned start was due, in part, to delays in the delivery of it vehicles. For the first three days of operation 13-15 August), passengers were allowed to ride fare free to encourage familiarity with the service as well as identify any possible problems with the service ("beta testing").[2][12]

In 2015, Elevated Transit was awarded the Best Brand Design by the American Institute of Graphic Arts. The company's logo and brand design were developed with help from Cocoa Productions (Midway, Utah).[13]

Future plans

Elevated Transit anticipates providing express package service in the near future.[14][15]

Routes

As of February 2016, Elevated Transit continued having two routes: Blanding - Salt Lake City and Richfield - Salt Lake City. It provides daily runs in each direction on both of its routes, with buses leaving every morning from Blanding and Richfield, as well as two more from Salt Lake City.[Note 2][Note 4] Except as noted, they make the same stops on both the northbound and the southbound runs of both routes. The following are lists of stops on the respective routes:[5]

Blanding - Salt Lake City

Richfield - Salt Lake City

An Elevated Transit Thomas HDX bus at the Chevron station in Centerfield

In addition to these daily runs, Elevated Transit provides additional roundtrips on the Richfield - Salt Lake City route. These additional roundtrips make most of the same stops along the route and run each Thursday thru Monday. They start in the mid afternoon in Richfield with a 30 minute layover in Salt Lake City in the early evening before returning to Richfield. There is also a 10 minute layover in Gunnison on the northbound leg only and no layover in Nephi for either direction. These roundtrips do not stop in either direction at the following: Snow College in Ephraim, Fairview, and Mount Pleasant.[5] One of the intended purposes for this additional trip is to facilitate access from the Wasatch Front to the Central Utah Correctional Facility (CUCF). Prison visitors may ride down to Gunnison in the morning and then return the same evening.[4]

An Elevated Transit Thomas HDX bus at the Provo Intermodal Center

Ticketing

Tickets for Elevated Transit service can be purchased online at its official website. Prices are distance based and one-way prices range from $2.00 for cross-town service to $85.00 for the longest run (from the USUE campus in Blanding to the Salt Lake City International Airport). However, slight discounts are offered to senior citizens and accompanied children (ages 2-11), with no charge for infants under age 2.[17] As an official Greyhound Connect service provider, tickets for routes on both bus companies can be purchased on either company's website.[18][19] (For the first few months of Elevated Transit's operations, tickets had to be purchased separately.[12] In addition, due to website compatibility issues, as of July 2015, Elevated Transit's website was unable to accept credit cards from card customers with a non-US billing address. Such customers were directed to use Greyhound's website to purchase their tickets.)[18]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Due to the financial support received and contracts involved, both the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) and Greyhound maintain oversight of the fares assessed and route schedules Elevated Transit.[4][7]
  2. 1 2 The Glaval Synergy buses used on the Blanding - Salt Lake City route have the capacity to carry up to eight bicycles. If additional capacity is needed, advance reservations must be made to arrange for a towed bicycle trailer.[9]
  3. ↑ Salt Lake Express is a transportation company that provides shuttle service in southern Idaho, western Montana, northern Utah, and western Wyoming.
  4. ↑ Although the buses on the regular routes are scheduled to run one direction on one day and then return the other direction the next, the drivers do not. Drivers switch buses and return to their city of origin each day. For example, the driver that starts in Blanding in the morning (heading northbound), will switch buses in Price so as to return to Blanding (heading southbound) late that afternoon.[7]
  5. ↑ The Lions Park Tranist Hub is a recently constructed facility in Grand County, just northwest of Moab at the junction of US-191 and SR-128 on the south bank of the Colorado River. It was completed in the late spring of 2014 as part of an effort to increase safety for alterative transportation (non-motorized vehicles) in the area.[16]
  6. ↑ On the northbound run of the Blanding - Salt Lake City route, the bus stops on the campus of Utah State University Eastern (USUE) in Price, then stops at the Walmart on East Main Street (SR-55) for a 39 minute layover before returning to the USUE campus and continuing north. (This facilitates a daily round trip from USUE to Walmart.) However, on the southbound run the bus does not stop at USUE, but still has a 30 minute layover at the Walmart.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Connecting Utah". elevatedtransit.com. Elevated Transit LLC. Retrieved 16 Dec 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Herdon, Rudy. "Elevated Transit plans to begin bus service this week". The Times-Independent. Moab, Utah. Retrieved 16 Dec 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Contact Us". elevatedtransit.com. Elevated Transit LLC. Retrieved 16 Dec 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Davidson, Lee (16 May 2014). "New bus service coming for southeast, central Utah". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City: MediaNews Group. Retrieved 14 Dec 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 "Routes & Schedules". elevatedtransit.com. Elevated Transit LLC. Retrieved 8 Dec 2015.
  6. ↑ "Terms & Conditions". elevatedtransit.com. Elevated Transit LLC. Retrieved 16 Dec 2014.
  7. 1 2 Herdon, Rudy. "Moab-SLC bus service could start in June". The Times-Independent. Moab, Utah. Retrieved 16 Dec 2014.
  8. ↑ Utah Department of Transportation FTA Transit Program Award Amounts - 2015 -2020 STIP (PDF). udot.utah.gov (Report). Utah Department of Transportation. 13 Feb 2016.
  9. ↑ Hill, Michelle (14 Oct 2014). "Daily Bus Moab to Salt Lake City". linkedin.com. LinkedIn. Retrieved 21 Dec 2014.
  10. 1 2 "Elevated Transit to Begin Bus Service". castlecountryradio.com. Eastern Utah Broadcasting Company. 4 Aug 2014. Retrieved 16 Dec 2014.
  11. ↑ Mueller, Phil (15 May 2014). "New Bus Service For Moab". Canyonslands Daily News. Moab, Utah: Moab Communications LLC. Retrieved 16 Dec 2014.
  12. 1 2 "Elevated Transit". The Eagle. Price, Utah: Utah State University Eastern. 4 Sep 2014. Retrieved 16 Dec 2014.
  13. ↑ Kohler, Jeff (15 May 2016). "Color Us Thrilled: Branding Design Award". cocoaproductions.com. Retrieved 13 Feb 2016.
  14. ↑ "Elevated Transit connecting rural towns to big cities". The Pyramid. Provo, Utah: Lee Enterprises. 13 Nov 2014. Retrieved 16 Dec 2014.
  15. ↑ "Additional Services". elevatedtransit.com. Elevated Transit LLC. Retrieved 16 Dec 2014.
  16. ↑ Thomas, Pippa (28 May 2014). "Transit Hub grand opening". Moab Sun Times. Moab, Utah: Andrew Mirrington. Retrieved 16 Dec 2014.
  17. ↑ "Pricing". elevatedtransit.com. Elevated Transit LLC. Retrieved 16 Dec 2014.
  18. 1 2 "Tickets". elevatedtransit.com. Elevated Transit LLC. Retrieved 16 Dec 2014.
  19. ↑ "Greyhound Connect". greyhound.com. Greyhound Lines. Retrieved 20 Dec 2014.
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