<story><title>Utah expands public transportation with rapid bus transit, free until 2021</title><url>http://rideuta.com/news/2018/08/UVX-Service-Starts-August-13</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>Mbioguy</author><text>A deeply red&amp;#x2F;Republican and relatively low-density state might seem like a strange place to find a functional public transit system. Utah is an interesting place. The geography of the Wasatch Front lends itself to public transit in ways that less geographically-constrained places do not. The region is mostly a north-south corridor, with occasional off-shoots to the side, which is how the transit network has developed. There is a significant tech culture, from &amp;#x27;little silicon slopes&amp;#x27; in Lehi to the significant student population. The valley has seasonal pollution problems caused by mountains to the east and west. This is made worse by the lake effect, which means energy solutions helpful elsewhere are less effective, like natural gas plants. What would otherwise be transient pollutants instead react with ammonia from the lake and persist in the atmosphere, further trapped by the mountains. Utah has a significant need for public transit, and getting students connected and using it is a great way for generational change to occur. Car culture still rules, and will for a long time, but this is a good thing to hear. Hopefully a Trax expansion or equivalent in Utah county will happen eventually. Until then, this seems the next best policy.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>hueving</author><text>&amp;gt;A deeply red&amp;#x2F;Republican and relatively low-density state might seem like a strange place to find a functional public transit system.&lt;p&gt;Only if you buy the strawmen of politics in the US of there being two &amp;#x27;sides&amp;#x27; with everyone neatly falling into place on a pathetic line.&lt;p&gt;The further you get away from the shithole that is the US federal government, the more this becomes apparent. The things each &amp;#x27;side&amp;#x27; is supposed to support completely changes at the state levels and varies from state to state.&lt;p&gt;The best thing you can do is dispose of the notion of a single political spectrum and you will be a lot less shocked when you encounter something contrary to the propaganda designed to divide people.</text></comment>
<story><title>Utah expands public transportation with rapid bus transit, free until 2021</title><url>http://rideuta.com/news/2018/08/UVX-Service-Starts-August-13</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>Mbioguy</author><text>A deeply red&amp;#x2F;Republican and relatively low-density state might seem like a strange place to find a functional public transit system. Utah is an interesting place. The geography of the Wasatch Front lends itself to public transit in ways that less geographically-constrained places do not. The region is mostly a north-south corridor, with occasional off-shoots to the side, which is how the transit network has developed. There is a significant tech culture, from &amp;#x27;little silicon slopes&amp;#x27; in Lehi to the significant student population. The valley has seasonal pollution problems caused by mountains to the east and west. This is made worse by the lake effect, which means energy solutions helpful elsewhere are less effective, like natural gas plants. What would otherwise be transient pollutants instead react with ammonia from the lake and persist in the atmosphere, further trapped by the mountains. Utah has a significant need for public transit, and getting students connected and using it is a great way for generational change to occur. Car culture still rules, and will for a long time, but this is a good thing to hear. Hopefully a Trax expansion or equivalent in Utah county will happen eventually. Until then, this seems the next best policy.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>david-cako</author><text>Mormons are the kindest and hardest working people in the country.  They understand taking care of each other in ways no one else seems to, and I think that is most of the reason why Utah is so functional.  Christians that actually act what they speak in nearly every way.&lt;p&gt;An aside, smog is really bad in Salt Lake due to its geography and that is probably one of the reasons they are taking this so seriously.</text></comment>