There were 1.1 million riders on Park City Transit during winter 2023-2024 (Dec. 10 - March 30). The count includes all riders from fixed-route bus service as well as micro transit, which Park City shut down in April.
That’s a 9% decline compared to the previous winter, when Park City saw record snow totals and a surge in winter tourism.
Despite the year-over-year dip, Park City Transit Director Tim Sanderson is encouraged about the 211% increase in park and ride usage.
For the first time this past winter, the city ran direct buses to Park City Mountain and Deer Valley from Richardson Flat’s 750-space park and ride lot near the Quinn’s Junction exit off U.S. Highway 40.
Sanderson said they want to continue to encourage skiers and riders to take the bus into town, rather than increasing vehicle traffic in the city core.
“We’re still figuring out how best to communicate to the public and visitors of Park City in order to encourage them in order to use it,” Sanderson said. “So as we hone that message down, and as more people try it and like it, which is what we’re seeing, we think that number is going to just grow substantially going into next season.”
Sanderson directly attributed the increase in park and ride utilization to Richardson Flat, which the 6 Silver bus continues to service this summer.
Going into next winter, the transit director said he’d like buses to adjust to a 15-minute frequency during rush hour.
“Instead of running 20-minute service all day long, we want to bump that up to 15-minute service during those areas of high peak demand, and then back it off to 30 minutes off-peak,” Sanderson said. “Same amount of bus hours that we’re running, so it’s a zero cost item, but it does provide a better experience for our customers. We think that’s going to have a pretty significant impact.”
Park City Transit is free and runs a variety of buses throughout the summer. Route details and more information can be found here.
