Industry News
The Utah Department of Transportation has announced that it will pursue expanded bus service and tolling in Little Cottonwood Canyon over the next two winters, reversing its decision to wait until a lawsuit plays out in Federal court over its decision to construct a gondola in Little Cottonwood Canyon. UDOT said it plans on adding 30 more buses over the next several years, with the goal of bringing service time down from 30 minutes to 10 minutes. Though some money is in place to get the project started, more funds will need to be secured to complete the first phase of the project. Once the bus service is expanded, UDOT has said it will implement tolling in Little Cottonwood Canyon to incentivize skiers to take the bus. Tolls could be $20-30 per car, depending on traffic in the canyon.
Despite UDOT’s initial hesitation to pursue expanded bus service while its gondola decision is being litigated, two of the three nonprofit groups bringing the lawsuit have welcomed the change of course, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. Under UDOT’s decision, expanded bus service, tolling, and snow sheds in major avalanche paths would all be implemented before construction of the gondola would commence, and would not likely happen for several decades. Lawsuits from Friends of Alta, Save Our Canyons, and Salt Lake City challenged the gondola project’s Environmental Impact Statement, and three separate challenges were recently merged into one lawsuit in April 2024. Daily winter bus service started on December 7, and currently runs every 30 minutes from 6:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m..
