Provo Bus Will Be Free for Three Years

When Utah Transit Authority (UTA) starts its Provo to Orem bus service this week, it will cost nothing. The Bus Rapid Transit System operating between Provo and Orem received a Federal Highway Administration Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement grant, which will fund its operation for at least three years.

While bus-only lanes are still under construction, "[t]he new line is opening nine months ahead of its original schedule to accommodate BYU and Utah Valley University students as they begin the fall semester," Lee Davidson Reports for the Salt Lake City Tribune. The long, 60-foot buses are hybrid vehicles. "When construction is complete, bus-only lanes will cover about half of the route," Davidson writes.

In addition to its grant, the bus service will also be supported by the universities it serves. "In a deal with UTA last year, BYU and UVU had also agreed to pay $1 million each for 10 years to provide passes for all UTA bus and rail services to their students, staff and their families," Davidson reports.