UTA Organization & Governance
In 1969, the Utah State Legislature passed the Utah Public Transit District Act, which allows individual communities to address transportation needs by forming local transit districts.
UTA was founded in March 1970 when the cities of Sandy, Salt Lake and Murray voted to form a transit district. Today, UTA’s service area is over 1,400 square miles and covers six counties: Box Elder, Davis, Salt Lake, Tooele, Utah and Weber.
UTA is governed by a 16-member Board of Trustees that continually directs agency staff to improve public transit along the Wasatch Front. Trustees are appointed by the city and county governments that fund UTA with a local option sales tax. Board members work with their appointing local representatives to direct UTA so the agency can best meet the needs of individual communities.
Local-elected officials may also serve on the UTA Board, and one seat is reserved for a member of the State Transportation Commission, which is part of the Utah Department of Transportation.
The number of board appointments varies by county population. UTA’s current board structure is as follows:
- Municipalities within Salt Lake County and the municipalities of Grantsville and Tooele, 7 seats
- Unincorporated Salt Lake County, 1 seat
- Salt Lake City, 1 seat
- Municipalities within Utah County, 2 seats
- Municipalities within Davis County, 2 seats
- Municipalities within Weber County and the municipalities of Brigham City, Willard and Perry, 2 seats
- Utah Transportation Commission (ex-officio), 1 seat
Each board member serves a two year term and is limited to three consecutive terms. Changes to the board’s size and appointment procedures must be made by the state legislature.
The Board of Trustees oversees UTA in the following ways:
- Sets Policies by directing the agency on issues such as ridership, rules, security guidelines and fare changes.
- Provides Overall Guidance and sets a framework of operations including new project construction, changing routes, purchasing equipment and increasing ridership.
- Plans Transit Programs and gives final approval on route changes, new service areas and special shuttle services.