Public transportation is new to Wasatch County, but it’s catching on fast.
High Valley Transit debuted one bus route and its on-demand micro-transit service in the county in November 2022. In the almost two years since, more than 230,000 residents have used the service -- so many that drivers can’t keep up.
The Wasatch County Council approved a new sales tax to help expand public transportation starting next year.
But in the meantime, some county residents said unreliable micro-transit service has left them in the lurch. Wait times for the service, which is used by 70% of riders in the valley, run about 30 to 40 minutes.
At a meeting Sept. 18, Shelly Hokanson told the county council she can’t drive anymore, so she’s relied on High Valley Transit for about a year to get to doctor’s appointments and other essential errands. She qualifies for paratransit, an accessible form of micro-transit, and at first, she had success requesting rides.
“When I called High Valley Transit, they said you can get your doctor to sign the paper, then you can schedule your appointments two weeks in advance,” she said. “So, I did that. Worked great for about six months.”
But this summer, she said micro-transit became too unreliable to get her to dialysis three days per week.
“I don't know what happened at the beginning of the summer, but I just kept track this last week, and there have been seven instances that I was either never picked up or picked up an hour and 15 to an hour and 30 minutes late to go to dialysis,” she said.
She said she’s had to miss some or all of recent treatment sessions because the service has become unreliable.
Hokanson said she doesn’t mind sharing rides, but she feels like the transit service is “trying to get rid of” her.
“They’ve just been more rude, cancelling things, not showing up – and my dialysis is my life,” she said.
Wasatch County manager Dustin Grabau said riders might be running into problems both because of higher demand and because all the vehicles are currently commuting from Summit County. He said there have been problems with vandalism at the Wasatch County vehicle storage facility, so until security cameras are installed, the longer drive raises the cost of every ride.
Grabau said the county has never formally contracted with High Valley Transit for accessible vans, another reason the service can be unreliable.
“I believe that when they first started to offer service in Wasatch County, they weren’t differentiating the paratransit service between their Snyderville Basin service area and the Heber Valley service area,” he said. “We’ve talked about contracting for that starting in January to make sure that we do offer the service. I think they’re trying to be more consistent and uniform in where and when they offer these services.”
He said that’s where the additional funds for public transit will make a difference to Wasatch County riders: Paratransit is a top priority among councilmembers. Formally implementing the service in the Heber Valley will cost about $200,000 per year.
The Wasatch County Council will discuss priorities for the new transportation tax dollars at its meeting Oct. 2. Those changes will go into effect in the new year.
