High Valley Transit app users hoping to book a microtransit ride in Park City proper will no longer have the option to do so starting next week.

The Park City Council on Thursday declared “micro is dead” following its decision to discontinue the free, on-demand transportation service, citing concerns about unreliability, high cost and unsatisfactory service. Staff will explore alternatives such as creating new, fixed bus routes or establishing a hybrid system rather than renewing the $1.5 million contract.

City Hall launched a temporary pilot program with the High Valley Transit District in November 2022 and brought it citywide in July 2023 with an interest in making the service permanent. 

---

---

High Valley Transit also operates microtransit services in certain zones of Summit and Wasatch counties including Kimball Junction, Jeremy Ranch and the Heber Valley.

Microtransit allows users to schedule a free van service that picks them up and drops them off within one of the microtransit zones. The service is intended to serve as a step between existing bus lines and private ridesharing options such as taxis. 

---

---

There were 29,681 microtransit rides within the city limits between November 2023 and March 9, with an average of 4.5 customers per hour. Around 180 people used the system more than 50 times, indicating many riders are likely visitors.

Data presented by Tim Sanderson, the city’s new transportation director, also indicated more than 90% of ride requests came from areas with existing bus services; a major consideration when the City Council decided to discontinue services. 

However, High Valley Transit Executive Director Caroline Rodriguez said the statistic as presented was misleading. The figure examined rides within a ¾ mile of a bus stop, but the transit district was previously told the maximum distance riders should be asked to walk to and from a bus stop is 500 meters.

“Ninety-one percent of people who opened their app and planned a trip were in those locations. That means I’m the customer, I have a trip to take and I open my app and plan the trip,” she explained. “Ninety-one percent of those people were near a fixed route line. That makes sense because they want to use transit. That is not the number of people who got a microtransit trip. The huge majority of those were pushed back to an existing Park City transit fixed route, as they should be.”

The High Valley Transit app also ensures riders do not receive a micro ride proposal if there is adequate bus service. Still, some members of the City Council — and the public — characterized microtransit as a “subsidized Uber.”

“The point of microtransit is to keep people involved and participating with the transit system if it’s appropriate for them. It really is to do those first- and last-mile connections,” Rodriguez said. “We don’t want to kick them out of the transit system. We don’t want to put in another fixed route either because that doesn’t meet the need. The need can be met efficiently and affordably with a microtransit trip.”

She asserted only 36% of requests offered a start-to-finish microtransit ride. The rest are directed to a fixed route or an intermodal trip such as transferring between microtransit and the bus. 

Microtransit also helps provide transit connections to underserved areas such as Royal Street, Park Meadows and Quinn’s Junction, where over ⅓ of microtransit ridership occurred, according to Rodriguez. A City Hall staff report suggests those areas only accounted for 9% of ride requests.

Inconsistent wait times were also a key concern. 

A 15-minute wait time is considered desirable, and 43% of trips were completed within that time frame. Around 70% of total trips were completed in 30 minutes or less. 

Staff said the actual average wait time of 27 minutes is an “unacceptable level of service” for the community considering the high frequency of fixed routes and the abundance of local taxis.

“That inconsistency leads to disillusioned customers,” Sanderson said.

High Valley Transit strives to ensure low wait times, but Rodriguez said several factors, such as increased demand or traffic, can cause them to become higher during winter.

The transit district’s executive director tried to address the discrepancies in a memo to the staff and the City Council. Rodriguez said she was disappointed officials didn’t “get the full picture” before making their decision.

“What is determined to be adequate (service) has been specified by Park City staff and Council based on Park City’s goals for the service,” she said. Factors included the distance required to walk to a bus stop, the duration of the bus trip and the number of connections. “High Valley Transit can always adjust these parameters if Park City’s goals for the service change.”

Rodriguez feels that High Valley Transit exceeded the goals established by City Hall and that the microtransit pilot program achieved what it set out to do. The City Council emphasized a need to establish what their objectives are. 

Sanderson presented four options: maintain the existing levels of service, invest additional resources, discontinue the service and replace it with new fixed routes, or go back to the drawing board. Officials may consider creating a task force dedicated to the issue.

A few community members spoke in opposition to microtransit, encouraging the city to stop using taxpayer dollars on the service and to partner with local taxi drivers instead. One Park Meadows resident addressed the overall need for more connections in the neighborhood.

The decision to discontinue the service in Park City doesn’t affect microtransit elsewhere in the Wasatch Back. The last day for services in the city limits is Sunday, April 14.