Operating ticket vending machines costs nearly as much as the fares they collect on the 35 MAX bus — a partial bus rapid transit route in West Valley City. So the Utah Transit Authority Board decided Wednesday to dump them, and depend on bus operators to collect all fares.
When officials launched the 35 Max a decade ago, they hoped to speed service by passengers buying tickets before they board from one of 26 machines at stops. But the route also had on-bus fare boxes for stops in neighborhoods that lacked the machines.
Lorin Simpson, UTA general manager for Salt Lake County, said all the aging machines now need to be replaced at $17,000 each.