Sevier Lake

Elevated Transit

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• published: 01 Mar 2016
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Elevated Transit is a regional intercity bus company in Utah, United States that connects the central, eastern, and southeastern areas of the state (Carbon, Grand, Emery, Juab, San Juan, Sanpete, and Sevier counties) with the Wasatch Front, specifically Provo and Salt Lake City. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wasatch Transportation and is an official Greyhound Connect company. Description Elevated Transit provides daily routes in both directions throughout its service area, plus some additional roundtrip runs Thursday through Monday. Its headquarters are at 42 North 100 East, Suite 1 in American Fork. Its parent company, Wasatch Transportation, has (as of 2016) been in operating in Utah for nearly 30 years, but has specialized in special needs and school transportation. Elevated Transit's slogan is Travel the HIGH way. Seating is first-come, first-served and smoking is prohibited on Elevated Transit vehicles. The bus line was created to provide bus service to the central, eastern, and southeastern areas of the state that previously lacked public transportation. It began operating with substantial financial support from the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) and Greyhound Lines. Between UDOT and Greyhound, Elevated Transit will receive $864,000 per year for its first five years of operation. According to CEO Steven Fuller, it is hoped that the initial funding will allow the company to grow "to the point that public funds are no longer needed and it will self-sustain." The service is intended to connect with existing Greyhound service, as well as other transit systems along the routes. Current Fleet Elevated Transit's fleet included two models of 35-passenger buses (Glaval Synergy and Thomas HDX) with three of each model. The Glaval Synergy have compartments that have the capacity to hold a limited number of bicycles. However in anticipation of multiple passengers desiring to transport bicycles to the Moab area, the buses have the ability to tow a bicycle trailer.The Thomas HDX model are most often used for school buses, but is occasionally modified (as for Elevated Transit) for commercial transport. Both buses have Wi-Fi, available satellite TV, lavatories, wheelchair access, additional space for baggage and bicycles History Decades ago, Greyhound provide more extensive bus service in rural Utah than it does today, but most of these routes were abandoned years ago For quite a few years replacement service has been sought and a similar proposed bus service was close to realization in 2012. This service was to be provided by the Salt Lake Express, however, the proposal fell through when Salt Lake Express's buses couldn't meet the required Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. The contract was opened again for bidding, with the proposal from Wasatch Transportation being accepted. About a year later the new subsidiary company (Elevated Transit) received its transportation license on 3 October 2013. After several false starts, Elevated Transit began operating on 13 August 2014. Original plans were to commence operations in late April, then mid June, but buses did not begin running until August. The later-than-planned start was due, in part, to delays in the delivery of it vehicles. For the first three days of operation 13-15 August), passengers were allowed to ride fare free to encourage familiarity with the service as well as identify any possible problems with the service ("beta testing"). In 2015, Elevated Transit was awarded the Best Brand Design by the American Institute of Graphic Arts. The company's logo and brand design were developed with help from Cocoa Productions (Midway, Utah).