After 16 years of renegotiating annually, the new deal would extend the long-standing relationship between two state entities for a 10-year period. The university would pay an annual flat sum — $3.7 million this year — with a preset schedule of increases.
The deal, which still requires U. trustees’ approval, allows the university to better manage its transportation program, which is vital to many of its campus-planning goals, and the student fees that support it.
"To get an increase [in student fees], we have a lot of hoops to jump through, and people always worry about it. Is it going to be there next year?" said Alma Allred, director of commuter services.
The deal is also a winner for UTA, which can continue counting on the 6,000 U. riders who board its buses and light-rail trains every weekday.
While transit-riding students and faculty are the big winners in the U.-UTA relationship, subsidized ridership also benefits taxpayers, drivers who enjoy less crowded roads, and everyone who breathes Wasatch Front air, officials say.
About one-third of the 42,000 U.’s faculty, staff and students regularly accessed campus last year by public transit. That’s good news for U. officials who are intent on reducing the university’s "carbon footprint," freeing up parking lots for other uses as more buildings go up, and making campus a more pedestrian-friendly environment. Salt Lake Tribune
