Today, we chat with Curtis Haring, Executive Director of the Utah Transit Riders Union, about what UTRU is up to, the future of transit in Utah, and how people all over the country can get involved in local advocacy.
Utah Transit Riders Union: https://utru.org/
Follow @RideUTRU
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Timestamps
- 00:00 Cities Skylines
- 00:41 Intro: Curtis Haring, Executive Director of UTRU
- 01:07 The News
- 01:26 Montreal REM delays
- 02:16 Double-tracking on Indiana's South Shore line
- 02:52 Curtis's background
- 04:07 Transit in Bountiful, UT
- 05:30 Lifelong transit rider
- 06:57 Background in advocacy
- 09:09 UTRU & UTA: adversarial ally
- 10:42 Other transit systems in Utah
- 11:28 Curtis's routes
- 12:18 August 2022 Change Day & Rose Park
- 13:17 Brief history of UTRU
- 14:23 The seven-day challenge
- 15:05 UTRU post-pandemic
- 16:28 Transit is at a crossroads
- 18:13 The climate crisis
- 18:50 Successes of UTRU
- 20:15 Community councils
- 20:50 The Avenues
- 23:56 Everything's local
- 25:12 UTRU outreach & awareness
- 28:13 The future rider
- 28:56 Representatives & bus stops
- 30:42 Biggest issues along the Wasatch Front
- 31:01 Rubber-stamping roads projects, transit eh
- 31:27 UDOT taking over rail building
- 33:18 Utah grew up when cars became a thing
- 34:01 Lack of transit education
- 37:46 Free Fare February & barriers
- 41:14 UVX
- 42:34 Free Fare Forever?
- 45:15 Why car?
- 46:42 Advice for people who want to get involved
- 48:42 Building communities around people
- 49:37 Utah's future
- 50:30 Blathering on
- 50:41 Cities Skylines
- 51:44 Complaining about microtransit
- 56:06 30 minute minimum frequency
- 58:37 Engage with policymakers
- 59:55 Transit is an issue of economics
- 1:01:23 Ribbon-cutting
- 1:03:03 Outro: follow UTRU
References & notes
- [1] CBC: Opening of most REM light rail stations pushed back to end of 2024
- [2] Mass Transit: Construction begins for 'game changing' South Shore Line Double Track project
- [3] The Salt Lake Tribune Archive: UTA says committee meetings are no longer public, which may violate Utah law