Two Salt Lake City transportation programs didn’t survive budget cuts — here are the updates

After what Salt Lake City officials described as one of the most complicated budget cycles the city has seen, transportation programs that allowed cheaper public transportation fees and waived parking fees on city streets are no longer running.

Among the defunct plans are the Hive Pass, which allowed access to Utah Transit Authority buses, TRAX and other routes for $42 a month and the city’s Green Vehicle Parking Program, which offered free parking for cars that met the standards established by a federal Environmental Protection Agency program that certifies the cleanest, most efficient vehicles every year. 

Every Salt Lake City department was asked to identify potential cuts as the city evaluated its $2.1 billion budget, which includes a $13.5 million property tax increase proposal. 

“The main reason that those two programs were cut was that basically the city focused on maintaining funding for core services and programs, and especially those that help the most vulnerable residents,” said Sofia Jeremias, a spokesperson for the Salt Lake City Transportation Division. “And so the Hive Pass program was not income qualified, and neither was the green vehicle parking program.”

The Hive Pass accounted for about 443 average users per month and the city expects to save about $350,000 from eliminating it. 

The Green Vehicle Parking Program had roughly 2,600 active users. By cutting it, the city expects to save about $177,000. However, another factor coming from the federal government played an important role in the program’s elimination — the EPA is no longer updating its list identifying the cleanest vehicles in its SmartWay Vehicle program.

“Part of it was definitely a budget decision, but the way the city ordinance was written for that program, it required the city to issue these stickers based on the EPA’s SmartWay standards,” Jeremias said. “And they actually stopped updating that list, and so the city didn’t have a clear way to identify which new vehicles would be the cleanest and most efficient anymore.”

The program ended without much discussion from the Salt Lake Council at the end of June. Green vehicle stickers, which identified the cars that qualified for free parking, are no longer valid. Parking at a metered stall without paying will result in a ticket beginning Aug. 1, according to the city’s website.

The change comes a year after the city raised downtown parking fees from $2.25 to $3.50 per hour, started charging to park on Saturdays, and extended the fee collection hours from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.

While the Green Vehicle Parking Program is over, the city is keeping its 40 electric vehicle charging stations free, Jeremias noted.

“There are still resources as well there for people,” she said. “But it was a difficult decision to end these programs in a tough budget year.”

Alternatives to the Hive Pass 

While the Hive Pass didn’t make it, other transit pass programs survived the last budget cycle. 

One of them, the Human Service Fare Program, still allows social service agencies to provide transportation assistance to low-income and underserved populations. There’s also a Salt Lake City School District unlimited pass available free for faculty, staff and students of the district, as well as one guardian per student.

Other users, in the city and throughout the state, can also use the Utah Transit Authority’s FAREPAY Card. That’s a reloadable electronic card that allows riders to save money by capping fares. With the card, users will pay a maximum of $5 per day and $20 weekly for local service.