The Salt Lake Express recently expanded its services to stop in Vernal, Heber City, Price, Blanding and Moab. The Blanding route, which Moab is on, stops in Monticello, Moab, Green River, Price, Spanish Fork, Orem, and Salt Lake City, with stops at the airport and downtown.
“We’ve been working on this expansion for several years now and are excited to get it launched,” said Kathy Pope, regional relations director for the Salt Lake Express. There hasn’t been a public transportation route from Moab to Salt Lake City since 2017, when the company Elevated Transit, who ran a system of passenger vans, folded.
The Salt Lake Express departs Moab every day at 4:55 a.m. and 11:05 a.m. from the Moab Chevron Food Mart at 817 S Main. Expected travel time to Salt Lake City is 4 hours, 35 minutes, and costs $53.25. Tickets can be purchased at www.saltlakeexpress.com, and anyone riding on the Blanding route to Salt Lake City can get $10 off the ride with the promo code “SLC-Blanding”.
Passengers are allowed one carry-on bag and a maximum of five checked bags; the first two checked bags are free, and each one after that is $10.
The company is expecting to provide 600 rides by the end of December from the Blanding, Monticello, and Moab area, Pope said. The goal for 2022 is to provide 7,500 rides to both locals and tourists.
“Many who need access to healthcare services, the airport, and the Utah State Capitol can now have service directly into Salt Lake City twice a day, 365 days per year,” said a press release.
The Blanding corridor was identified by the Utah Department of Transportation as a top priority in the state, since the region is largely underserved by public transportation. Utah itself has very limited connections to nationwide bus networks, such as Greyhound. The Salt Lake Express hopes to “connect people with where they need to be, especially those who don’t have a great deal of resources available to them,” the press release said.
The shuttle service also provides rides to Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Nevada, and are planning expansions into other gaps in Utah, such as between Kanab, Orderville, Salina, Manti and Spanish Fork.
