UTA employees look over the New Flyer Xcelsior 60-foot articulated bus in Salt Lake City on Friday, July 14, 2017. The bus is powered by a clean-air diesel-electric hybrid motor and can hold up to 80 passengers.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake City School District and the UTA have partnered to give transit passes to 25,000 students, staff and faculty.
The passes can be used to get to school or anytime that a student, faculty, or staff member needs to use public transportation. The passes are free for students and faculty and are available now.
“This was a three-way partnership between the education foundation, the Salt Lake school district and the city.” Kensey Kunkel, Manager Business Development and Sales at Utah Transit Authority, told KSL NewsRadio’s Dave and Dujanovic.
Other large cities, like New York City, have robust public transit systems that students regularly take advantage of. The move in Salt Lake City could be the start of something potentially greater for Utah students, Kunkel said.
“These transit passes are a big deal,” Kunkel said. “It is much more than expanding the already awesome school bus network. It’s about creating pathways for families to say ‘yes’ to opportunities. So, this can be used outside of school for after-school activities. Or, let’s say you miss the yellow bus. Instead of a parent having to skip work to get a student to school, these students can now take public buses.”
The school district paid UTA $379,000, split between the parties, for the partnership. However, it is a negotiated rate based on actual usage.
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