The Utah Transit Authority plans to procure a third-party vendor to assist agency drivers with ski bus duties next season, according to an internal memo sent to operations employees on April 24.
The memo obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune stated that supplemental services provided by UTA like the seasonal ski bus or special event transportation create a “large strain” on employees and the resources needed to provide everyday, baseline service across the valley.
The ski bus in particular creates fluctuations in operator staffing needs, supervisor workload and vehicle maintenance that lead to “undue demands” on employees, the memo notes.
“UTA is not replacing its existing workforce with supplemental service agreements,” officials wrote in the memo.
Instead, the agency aims to support its baseline service needs — which are only expected to grow — by outsourcing some of the supplemental work to third-party vendors.
Last fall, UTA reduced ski bus service for the second straight year due to staff shortages. The agency hopes to bring more frequent ski bus service back in the next season.
But in order to do that, the agency would have to increase its frequency of service for Routes 39, 218 and 201 for Salt Lake Valley commuters — which is what this move hopes to accomplish, UTA spokesperson Carl Arky said. The routes were reduced in 2020 but have not yet been restored because of a lack of resources, according to an August 2023 Change Day report.
Despite the ski bus cuts, preliminary ridership numbers indicate more people rode the ski bus from December 2023 through March. The data showed an 8% increase on Salt Lake County ski bus routes and a 4.3% overall gain from the previous ski season.
Officials pointed toward the vanpool shuttles UTA leased for ski resort employees in the Cottonwood canyons, which accounted for about 15% of ski service boardings this season, as a change that helped keep ski bus seats open for passengers.
“Our resort partners, operators, and UTA ambassadors worked hard this year to make Ski Bus service a valuable resource to thousands of guests and reduce congestion in the canyon for other drivers,” Andres Colman, regional general manager for UTA’s Salt Lake Service Unit, said in a news release. “These numbers will help us plan for increased riders next year and continue to improve wait times, route efficiency, and a positive experience.”
UTA is still in the exploratory stage for vendors, and the request for proposals is still being written to solicit third-party bids, Arky wrote in an email. The agency will not replace its existing workforce if UTA does find a vendor for supplemental services, Arky reiterated.
“The goal is to improve our ski bus service,” Arky said. “The hope is a solution can be found to mitigate the fluctuations UTA experiences in our staffing needs, supervisor workloads and vehicle maintenance demands that accompany ski bus service.”
