Local News
Northwest Utah County to receive UTA On Demand transit service
Megan Wallgren | Lehi Free Press
Residents in northwest Utah County will soon have a new option for getting around, thanks to an on-demand transit program designed to help solve one of the biggest challenges in public transportation: the gap between a transit stop and a rider’s starting or final destination.
After nearly a year of meetings and negotiations, the Utah County Commission finalized an agreement with the Utah Transit Authority to create a “mobility zone” serving parts of Lehi, American Fork, Eagle Mountain and Saratoga Springs. The zone will cover about 77 square miles and serve approximately 181,000 residents.
The new service functions similarly to rideshare apps like Uber or Lyft, but is fully integrated with the region’s public transit system. Riders will be able to request a trip through the UTA app and be picked up near their location and taken to a nearby destination, bus stop or FrontRunner station.
The program is set to begin Aug. 16. Riders will access the service by requesting a ride on the UTA app.
“This service helps address the always-challenging last mile,” Utah County Commissioner Skyler Beltran said in a Facebook post announcing the agreement. “While this is certainly not a major solution to our current traffic mess, it is a meaningful piece of the puzzle.”
Beltran said the new program will not only provide transportation options but also valuable data about how people travel. By tracking where riders begin and end their trips, planners hope to better identify where future transit investments could have the greatest impact in the fast-growing region.
Similar services were launched in Salt Lake County in 2019. Since that time, it has surpassed 2 million total riders and provided more than 645,000 rides in 2025 alone. That was a 13% increase over the previous year.
Utah County’s system will launch with a fleet of 16 vehicles, half of which will be wheelchair accessible to ensure riders with mobility challenges can also use the service. Trips will cost $3 per ride and allow passengers to travel up to six miles within the zone. However, trips connecting to the FrontRunner stations in Lehi or American Fork will not have a mileage cap.
The fare also includes transfers to other UTA services like buses, TRAX, and FrontRunner within two hours of the initial ride. Riders who already have a UTA transit pass will have the fee covered.
According to Beltran, the system is designed to complement existing transit rather than replace other services.
“It’s integrated with the entire UTA system, so a single trip can connect riders between on-demand service, FrontRunner, TRAX and other transit options,” Beltran said. “It’s really designed to complement the broader transit network.”
The service will operate Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., and officials estimate it could provide about 400 rides per day.
Funding for the program will largely come from Utah County’s fifth-fifth sales tax dedicated to transit transportation. Beltran noted that the entire service costs less to operate than a single fixed-route bus line.
For more information about existing UTA On Demand programs, visit rideuta.com/Services/UTA-On-Demand.
