High Valley Transit is embarking on a short-range planning effort to upgrade transit services across the Wasatch Back over the next five years by addressing gaps and improving productivity.The transit district hosted its first open house to discuss the plan at the Summit County Richins Building on Monday as it makes its way through the planning process. High Valley Transit is in the second of five phases, which is designed to identify unmet needs in the community and survey the public on what improvements they’d like to see.The third step to discuss service alternatives is expected to kick off in November with the next phase, strategy and impact analysis, scheduled for December and January. High Valley Transit’s goal is to implement any changes by March 2025.Possibilities for the future include more frequent service on bus routes, expanded service to new areas that are currently hard to reach and more reliable microtransit services in Summit and Wasatch counties, according to principal transit planner David Perlmutter. He works for Via Transportation, which is contracted by High Valley Transit to provide digital infrastructure for its transportation systems.Community members are encouraged to provide public input to help officials develop an action plan that addresses local connections and regional collaboration. High Valley Transit is considering factors such as demographic information, employment density and age to determine which improvements to make. Perlmutter highlighted the importance of understanding what motivates people to use public transit. High Valley Transit’s possibilities for the future include more frequent service on bus routes, expanded service to new areas that are currently hard to reach and more reliable microtransit services in Summit and Wasatch counties. Credit: Clayton Steward/Park RecordAreas with higher transit needs include places with zero-vehicle households, which are most concentrated in the Trailside and Kimball Junction neighborhoods, and communities with higher poverty rates such as Old Town, Deer Valley, Quinn’s Junction, Kamas and Francis. They also want to consider where there is a high density of workers living such as Prospector Square or Heber City, which has become a big user of High Valley Transit. Perlmutter said that was a big motivation for extending the 106 route down into Wasatch County.Most High Valley Transit riders are between 15 to 24 years old, while senior citizens in the Wasatch Back don’t ride as often as in other places.Around a dozen community members attended the open house this week, most of whom identified themselves as current or former High Valley Transit users. They raised specific issues with overcrowding on the 101 Spiro route from Deer Valley to Jeremy Ranch, the need for more bus stops, missed connections or consistency and seat unavailability. High Valley Transit officials said the problems are more of a supply issue than a problem with demands for service. Perlmutter said the transit district is punching well above its weight.Beth Ko, a transportation planner with High Valley Transit, said the transit district is also considering adding additional service areas to the 107 route and may add another route dubbed the Snowball Express to better serve the Snyderville Basin, Canyons Village and Park City Mountain. There’s also a chance a new line might run to Deer Valley East Village.The Board of Trustees was expected to discuss some of the options during a meeting on Tuesday morning. Meeting dates for Kamas and Coalville will be announced soon.A community survey to help drive the decisions will be open for the next few weeks. Additional information is available at highvalleytransit.orgThe post High Valley Transit launches short-range plan to improve public transportation appeared first on Park Record.