UTA budgets for bonds in '07

Plan depends on passage of transit tax ballot measure

The Utah Transit Authority has tentative plans to issue $130 million in bonds next year to help build new TRAX lines and commuter rail.

The bonds, part of a preliminary 2007 budget released Wednesday, are contingent on the passage of two ballot measures that ask whether a quarter-cent sales-tax hike should be levied for transportation improvements in Salt Lake and Utah Counties. In Salt Lake County, the money would go to roads or transit — but no specific projects have been identified.

Orrin T. Colby Jr., president of the UTA Board of Trustees, said that UTA was preparing for the future by tentatively budgeting for the bonds. The Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved two tentative budgets. One included the bond issuance and about $36 million in potential revenue from the tax hikes. The other budget assumed that the sales-tax increases will not pass.

"Hopefully we're sending a strong message that we believe these are important projects, that they can be done and that we're planning that they will be done," Colby said.

Unlike this past year, when about $1.8 million in cuts were made to bus service, UTA plans to add some additional service in 2007. Jerry Benson, UTA Chief Performance Officer, said that UTA plans to buy about 40 new vans for its van-pool service and add some new express bus routes within its service area.

Also, no plans have been made for a fare increase in 2007. Last year, because of high gas prices, UTA general manager John Inglish proposed that a 25-cent surcharge be added to all one-way transit rides. The surcharge was never implemented.

"For the first time in a long time, this has not been a cut-back year," Benson said.

In addition to new routes and additional service, UTA wants to increase its overall ridership in 2007 by about 5 percent. On Wednesday, Inglish announced that the agency's light rail system, TRAX, reached a record last month for the total number of riders who have used it since its opening in 1999: 50 million passengers.

TRAX averages about 60,000 riders a day.

"I think this is a significant moment and one that we should all take a little time to enjoy," Inglish said.

Over the next 30 days, UTA is seeking public comment on its tentative budget. To get a copy of the budget, call: 1-800-RIDE-UTA.

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E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com

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