By McKenzie Romero | Editor
As the Utah Transit Authority considers increasing rates for the first time in 13 years, advocates for low-income Utahns are concerned the hike is coming at the same time high cost of living is taking a toll.
Before raising prices, the Crossroads Urban Center wants the transit agency to help more passengers learn about discounted fares available for people with disabilities, seniors, youth and low-income households.
In today’s Dispatch we look at worries about who will be hit if UTA increases the cost to ride, two former students who say their harassment claims went unheard, and a seasonal warning for Utah drivers.
“I would feel better about a price increase if I knew that the people who are going to be hurt by it the most were all enrolled in the discount pass program. I am not confident that that’s the case.” — Bill Tibbitts, deputy executive director at Crossroads Urban Center, on the need he sees for promoting UTA programs serving low-income Utahns before rates go up.
Passengers board and disembark a UTA FrontRunner train in Salt Lake City on Thursday, April 18, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
By Alixel Cabrera
The Crossroads Urban Center sent a letter calling for a pause on raising rates to UTA as part of the public comment period assigned for the authority’s proposed budget, which includes an increase to the base fare for buses and TRAX from $2.50 to $3.
UTA hasn’t published how many riders use its reduced fare program. However, nationally, discounted fare programs struggle to attract participants, with fewer than one in three eligible people enrolling, according to the Urban Institute.
The Orrin G. Hatch United States Courthouse is pictured in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (McKenzie Romero/Utah News Dispatch)
By Annie Knox
Two former Syracuse High School students say when boys at their school shared nude and doctored images of them online, they went to administrators to report what happened.
But the young women allege school officials did little beyond telling the boys to delete their social media accounts — a response they say violated federal antidiscrimination law and allowed the predatory behavior to continue online and at school, according to a lawsuit.
A buck tempts fate in Millard County’s Oak City in 2022. (Courtesy of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources)
By Annie Knox
Starting Nov. 1, Utah roads will get darker earlier when daylight saving time ends. State wildlife managers say deer will also be on the move, migrating to lower elevations in search of food.
They’re urging drivers to keep their eyes peeled, turn on their high beams when possible and look for the faraway shine of an animal’s eye to avoid hitting big game animals.
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