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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 Transit
An Elevated Transit bus at the
Provo Intermodal Center
ParentWasatch Transportation
Founded2 October 2013[citation needed]
Commenced operation13 August 2014[1]
Ceased operation1 June 2017
Headquarters42 North 100 East, Suite 1[2]
American Fork, Utah 84003
United States
(888) ELEVATE (353-8283)
Service areaCentral, Eastern, and Southeastern Utah
Service typeCoach
AlliancePart of Greyhound Connect
Routes2
Stops
Destinations
Fleet3 Glaval Synergy buses
3 Thomas HDX buses
Chief executiveSteven Fuller[1]
Websiteelevatedtransit.com

Elevated Transit was a regional intercity bus company in Utah, United States. The company stopped offering regular bus service on June 1, 2017.[3] It formerly connected 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

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Elevated Transit provided daily routes in both directions throughout its service area, plus some additional roundtrip runs Thursday through Monday.[5] Its headquarters were at 42 North 100 East, Suite 1 in American Fork.[2] Its parent company, Wasatch Transportation, had (as of 2016) been in operating in Utah for nearly 30 years, but specialized in special needs and school transportation.[4] Elevated Transit's slogan was Travel the HIGH way.[6] Seating was is first-come, first-served and smoking was prohibited on Elevated Transit vehicles.[7]

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 received $864,000 per year for its first five years of operation.[9] According to CEO Steven Fuller, it was 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 was intended to connect with existing Greyhound service, as well as other transit systems along the routes.[1]

In 2017, Utah’s Department of Transport withdrew funding therefore effectively ending those services relying on public subsidy.[3]

Former Fleet

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Elevated Transit Thomas HDX bus interior

Elevated Transit's fleet included two models of 35-passenger buses (Glaval Synergy[1] and Thomas HDX) with three of each model. The Glaval Synergy had compartments with 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 had the ability to tow a bicycle trailer.[Note 2]The Thomas HDX model were most often used for school buses, but occasionally modified (as for Elevated Transit) for commercial transport.[6][1] Both buses had Wi-Fi, available satellite TV, lavatories, wheelchair access, additional space for baggage and bicycles[6][11]

History

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Decades ago, Greyhound provide more extensive bus service in rural Utah than it does today, but most of these routes were abandoned years ago[12] 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.[11] About a year later the new subsidiary company (Elevated Transit) received its transportation license on 3 October 2013.[citation needed]

After several false starts, Elevated Transit began operating on 13 August 2014.[1] 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").[1][13]

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).[14]

Routes

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As of June 1, 2017, Elevated Transit has discontinued its former routed between Salt Lake City and Blanding as well as Richfield and no scheduled service remains. This is a result of the discontinued UDOT funding.[15]

Blanding - Salt Lake City

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Richfield - Salt Lake City

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

In addition to these daily runs, Elevated Transit provided additional roundtrips on the Richfield - Salt Lake City route. These additional roundtrips made most of the same stops along the route and run each Thursday thru Monday. They started in the mid afternoon in Richfield with a 30-minute layover in Salt Lake City in the early evening before returning to Richfield. There was also a 10-minute layover in Gunnison on the northbound leg only and no layover in Nephi for either direction. These roundtrips did 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 was to facilitate access from the Wasatch Front to the Central Utah Correctional Facility (CUCF). Prison visitors could 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

See also

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Notes

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  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][8]
  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.[10]
  3. ^ Salt Lake Express is a transportation company that provides shuttle service in southern Idaho, western Montana, northern Utah, and western Wyoming.
  4. ^ The Lions Park Transit 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 alternative transportation (non-motorized vehicles) in the area.[16]
  5. ^ 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

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Herdon, Rudy. "Elevated Transit plans to begin bus service this week". The Times-Independent. Moab, Utah. Retrieved 16 Dec 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Contact Us". elevatedtransit.com. Elevated Transit LLC. Archived from the original on 16 November 2014. Retrieved 16 Dec 2014.
  3. ^ a b http://www.elevatedtransit.com/. Retrieved June 1, 2017. As of June 1, 2017, Elevated Transit is no longer offering daily Intercity Bus service between Salt Lake City, Utah, and Richfield, Utah, and between Salt Lake City, Utah, and Blanding, Utah. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ a b "Routes & Schedules". elevatedtransit.com. Elevated Transit LLC. Archived from the original on 27 November 2015. Retrieved 8 Dec 2015.
  6. ^ a b c "Connecting Utah". elevatedtransit.com. Elevated Transit LLC. Retrieved 16 Dec 2014.
  7. ^ "Terms & Conditions". elevatedtransit.com. Elevated Transit LLC. Archived from the original on 27 November 2014. Retrieved 16 Dec 2014.
  8. ^ Herdon, Rudy. "Moab-SLC bus service could start in June". The Times-Independent. Moab, Utah. Retrieved 16 Dec 2014.
  9. ^ Utah Department of Transportation FTA Transit Program Award Amounts - 2015 -2020 STIP (PDF). udot.utah.gov (Report). Utah Department of Transportation. 13 Feb 2016.
  10. ^ Hill, Michelle (14 Oct 2014). "Daily Bus Moab to Salt Lake City". linkedin.com. LinkedIn. Retrieved 21 Dec 2014.
  11. ^ a b "Elevated Transit to Begin Bus Service". castlecountryradio.com. Eastern Utah Broadcasting Company. 4 Aug 2014. Retrieved 16 Dec 2014.[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ Mueller, Phil (15 May 2014). "New Bus Service For Moab". Canyonslands Daily News. Moab, Utah: Moab Communications LLC. Retrieved 16 Dec 2014.
  13. ^ "Elevated Transit". The Eagle. Price, Utah: Utah State University Eastern. 4 Sep 2014. Retrieved 16 Dec 2014.
  14. ^ Kohler, Jeff (15 May 2016). "Color Us Thrilled: Branding Design Award". cocoaproductions.com. Retrieved 13 Feb 2016.
  15. ^ "Home". elevatedtransit.com.
  16. ^ Thomas, Pippa (28 May 2014). "Transit Hub grand opening". Moab Sun Times. Moab, Utah: Andrew Mirrington. Retrieved 16 Dec 2014.
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