Too much complaining about FrontRunner
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1 comment [ View ]By CHRISTINE EICHERT
Guest commentary
I just read with interest all of the letters to the editor that were published in the May 27 Standard-Examiner.
Complain, complain, complain!
I have ridden FrontRunner from Farmington to Salt Lake City every day since it started (except for a few days off). The Utah Transit Authority does have to work out some bugs, but for the most part I believe those of us living north of Salt Lake were in dire need of an alternative form of transportation and FrontRunner has provided that. I'm not sure if FrontRunner is getting better or if we are just getting used to it. It's very frustrating to look out at the freeway and see the cars moving faster than the train. I have made the decision to read a book and not to look, thereby not allowing me to get frustrated.
* Cost: I ride from the Farmington station, so the cost is actually cheaper for me to buy/use tokens rather than pay $145 per monthly pass. However, if you rode it from Ogden, then $145 would be considered a bargain in my mind. People can buy a package of 10 tokens from a UTA outlet for $15.50 ($1.55 each) versus $17.50 ($1.75 each) -- increasing your cost savings even more. UTA does monitor and does check for tickets; their employees don't check every day, but I have been asked to show my ticket at least once a week since it started.
* Time/efficiency: Nobody ever said riding mass transit (bus or train) was an efficient way to go. I rode the bus for years, but then started driving when my employer subsidized part of my parking. Granted, it's a lot easier/quicker to drive, but with gas approaching $4 per gallon, you have to ask yourself if it's worth it. UTA caters to the 8-5 working class. If your hours are any different than standard, just plan on it taking longer to get to or from work. Trains run every half hour except for an extra train at 5:10 p.m., which I suppose they put in to accommodate the 8-5 people. However, you cannot get to the central hub to catch the 5:10 unless you leave work really early. I have to cut out of work early at 4:50 in order to catch the 5:01 TRAX so I can get to the hub in time for the 5:25 train. I have the bonus of working right downtown, so I just need to leave my office and cross the street to catch a TRAX train. Anyone who works off the main TRAX line will find it much harder and less convenient.
* Exercise: Americans have become lazy and would rather drive than walk anywhere. I was just thinking this morning how refreshing it was to see so many people actually walking to their offices from the TRAX. The hardest part of the Farmington station is all the stairs we have to climb. There are 68 steps going up, a walk across the bridge to cross the four sets of train tracks, and 30 steps coming down, then a 10-minute walk to the end of the platform so we can cross to the platform that we actually board the train from (that's the stupid part) each morning. Repeat that same route in the evening after a long, tiring day at work.
UTA has forced me and everyone else at that station to actually walk. There are elevators for those not able to handle stairs. I understand the Layton stop has a long walk to get from the parking lot to the boarding platform, so that station has its own exercise program, too.
There are a lot of people now riding their bikes, whether it's because that is quicker than riding TRAX or maybe they don't work on the main TRAX line. The trains were designed for two bikes per car, but there are generally around 10 bikes stacked by the door; that's only for the car I ride in -- I don't know how many bikes are on the other cars. This sometimes makes it difficult to board/unboard at that door. I understand UTA is working on this and is modifying an old train car purchased from New Jersey to accommodate bikers.
For those people complaining about FrontRunner and how they are not going to ride it anymore: Thank you from those of us who are sitting shoulder-to-shoulder and knee-to-knee. Maybe if enough people stop using the system, we can be less squished in the cars and have a little more breathing room.
Overall, just like Rome wasn't built in a day, we need to give UTA time to work out the bugs. If the system is that bad and there are that many people discouraged and hating it, how come all three morning and afternoon cars on the train I ride are full every day? I heard each car hold 200 people sitting (300 including standing room), so doing the math that would be 600 people sitting (or 900 people including standing room) who are using it -- and that is just on one morning train.
Eichert lives in Fruit Heights.
Do not misconstrue frustration with not being able to take advantage of this asset with complaining. Some do complain, it's a fact of human nature. But I think most would love to use the train, it just isn't practical for everyone. I can't wait until the southern line is built, then I'm on it.