Go go 209

Props to UTA. The 209 weekday service now runs late.

TRAX has many virtues not shared by UTA's buses. Besides speed and reliability, TRAX has always had the highest frequency in the system. But the striking appearance of the UTA of the late-night 209 as I was biking home made me realize another: Hours of operation. For as long as I've been riding Trax, it has operated 18 hours a day. While in school, I consistently caught the last train Sandy (the 11:24 @ Gallivan Center).

I would never have dared do anything similar with the buses. Early on in my Salt Lake Transit dependency, I took buses out to E-Center during the peak hour, only to be stranded with no return trip. After repeated efforts to find alternative ways home (walk, bike, other buses), I finally abandoned that dojo.

I'm pretty excited about the 209. It not just a single bus--it's a transit spine. With TRAX, I'll make a trip to anyplace within a half-mile of a TRAX station with relative impunity, regardless of how far south along the line that location is.
Now, I have a second 'spine'. Three blocks from my house, I can now reach any place within a half mile of the 209. Running along 9th East, that doesn't quite overlap, but it's still a big improvement. (TRAX from 7th West to 1st East, and the 209 from 5th East to 13th East). If UTA were to do something similar with a bus in the middle, such as the 203 or 205, it would be fantastic.