Details
Route 667 is a free fare route that connects Farmington Station to Station Park, Lagoon and downtown Farmington. Due to heavy loads in the summer and connection issues with FrontRunner, UTA proposes to modify the schedule to provide better transfers to and from FrontRunner and to spread passenger loads across 667 trips. In order to accomplish this, there would be no service to downtown Farmington during the early morning and late evening peak periods, with service every 60 minutes during the mid-day and afternoon. If approved, the schedule will be modified on our next change day, Sunday, April 9, 2017.
Challenges
Route 667 scheduling challenges stem from one bus serving four FrontRunner Trains per hour during peak periods. Due to this difficulty, UTA has tried to optimize certain transfers to and from FrontRunner. Transfers to and from Salt Lake and other points south have traditionally been optimized, while transfers to the north often had longer wait times. Customer input has shown a need to better accommodate people from north of Farmington Station who wish to take transit.
Proposal
Rider data shows that Lagoon is the largest draw on the route. Planners believe ridership to Station Park and the University of Utah Medical Center will also continue to grow. At the same time, there is very little ridership along Main Street in downtown Farmington. This schedule aims to improve the transit experience for the biggest markets, while still providing some level of service to downtown Farmington.
Even with shortening the route on selected trips throughout the day, the 667 still can’t meet every train perfectly. The proposed schedule is based on observed travel patterns and available ridership data. It aims to provide good transfers from FrontRunner in both directions when the majority of riders want to make those connections. Pros and cons of the proposed solution are listed below.
Pros
- Optimal transfers (5-10 minutes) on most trips from FrontRunner to route 667 during the peak morning commute, from 7:45 to 9:30 a.m.
- Transfers of five minutes on most trips from FrontRunner to route 667 during mid-day.
- Optimal transfers on select trips from route 667 to both directions on FrontRunner after 9 p.m.
- Good mid-day transfers on every other 667 trip to northbound FrontRunner.
Cons
- Service to Main Street in Farmington reduced to 60 minute service between 9:45 a.m. and 3:45 p.m., and from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., with one final trip at 11:30 p.m. 667 trips outside of these time periods have no service to Main Street in Farmington.
- Long mid-day transfers from 667 to FrontRunner southbound.
- 4 p.m. to midnight transfers from FrontRunner to route 667 will only work on selected trips.