About 216 riders a day may not seem like much. But Utah Transit Authority officials are thrilled that its new “microtransit” experiment in southwestern Salt Lake County is attracting that many people after its first 20 days — and before a big marketing push is planned.
The service is a hybid between ride-hailing companies, like Uber and Lyft, and traditional transit. Riders use smartphones (or may call on a landline) to request a shared van ride to anywhere in a 65-square mile area for the same price as bus fare. Many use it to transfer to UTA rail lines.