The Utah Transit Authority is changing the new FrontRunner schedule earlier than expected because of long wait times and missed connections.
“The schedule has allowed more time for the trips between Provo and Ogden,” UTA spokesman Gerry Carpenter said. “The trip time between Provo and Salt Lake, for example, is about nine minutes longer than it was in the old schedule. And this just allows us to be more reliable.”
The change, which will take effect on February 19, will increase both the time the train is given to complete its route and the number of trips it makes throughout the day.
“We found that demand is higher than expected on some trips so we have increased the total number of trips,” Carpenter said. “Under the old schedule there were 29 trips a day in each direction. Under the new schedule there are 32 trips a day.”
Carpenter said that UTA is also increasing the number of trains that travel the full length of the track from Provo to Ogden, as well as extending the hours that are considered peak hours.
FrontRunner is scheduled every 30 minutes during peak hours and every hour during non-peak hours.
“Our initial plan was to make these changes in April, which is our regular reschedule change day, but due to the fact that it was causing inconvenience to our customers, people missing transfers to buses, we decided to go ahead and push this forward more quickly,” Carpenter said.
He said that when the FrontRunner line to Provo opened in December they found that the schedule was too tight and didn’t allow enough time for boarding, aligning and recovery time in the event that a train is a little bit late.
“The train schedule is a littler roomier so there is more time allowed for the travel time,” he said.
As a result of FrontRunner schedule adjustments, Carpenter said that many connecting bus routes in Utah County will be changing to ensure connectivity with the train. He encouraged riders to visit RideUTA.com to see the extent of schedule changes on buses.
