UTA's new Hill AFB bus service begins April 14

  • Published
  • By Mitch Shaw
  • Hilltop Times Staff
HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah --  Hill Air Force Base officials got a sneak peek of a new bus service that they hope will forever change the way employees on base get to and from work.

Recently, Col. Kathryn Kolbe, 75th Air Base Wing commander, along with some other base and Utah Transit Authority personnel, rode the FrontRunner commuter train from Farmington to Clearfield, then boarded a bus that took them directly to the base.

In a week, base employees will be able to do the same thing.

On April 14, UTA begins a new bus service to the base that will operate Monday through Friday with two buses that originate from the Clearfield FrontRunner Station, 1250 S. State St.

One bus will enter the south gate on State Route 193 and service the east side of the base, while the other will enter the west gate at 650 North and service the west side of the base.

The service will operate at peak service times, from about 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. and from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and will make 20 different stops on base.

Kolbe said Hill employees will benefit by having a cheap, effective and stress free way to get to work and back home.

And with some 20,000 employees working on base, UTA will benefit with increased ridership.

But Kolbe says perhaps the biggest potential benefit will be in taking a large number of vehicles off the road, which will help regional freeway congestion and air quality issues.

"This is just a great opportunity," Kolbe said.

Eddy Cumins, regional general manager of UTA's Mount Ogden Business Unit, said the incentive for base employees to use the new service is sky high.

During 2014, all federal government employees can receive up to $130 every month to pay for travel between their homes and place of employment.

Cumins said the transit subsidy, along with other price reduction deals offered by UTA, essentially makes riding FrontRunner and the connecting buses free for Hill employees.

"I think we're going to see a tremendous increase in ridership," Cumins said.

Kolbe said there has been a lot of positive "buzz" about the service among people she's talked to on base, indicating the service will be well used. However, she said that in order for usage numbers to grow in the future, consistency is key.

"I think people are going to ride it and it's a tremendous service and something we haven't had," she said. "But it needs to be convenient and it needs to be reliable."

For more information about the two new routes to Hill, which will be called route no. 664 and no. 665, visit rideuta.com or click on the related links above.