The Utah Transit Authority says its decision two years ago to cancel direct ski bus service from downtown Salt Lake City — which upset hotels — helped increase ridership by 48% in Big Cottonwood and Little Cottonwood canyons. That’s because the change allowed UTA to offer more frequent service in the canyons.
Boardings are up from 217,088 before the change to 320,633 this ski season — an increase of more than 100,000.
“It put our dollars where we get the biggest bang for our buck,” Lorin Simpson, UTA’s Salt Lake regional general manager, told the agency’s board this week.