First day

I kept track on my watch this morning when we arrived at all the various stops. I found that the bus is about 3-4 minutes behind by the time it picks me up near the beginning of the route. By the end of the route it is about 20 minutes behind. I walked from 3rd West and North Temple back to work. This will be the only day I have a long walk. The rest of the week I'll be dropped right off where I work since we're moving locations tonight. Anyway, I'll keep track on the way home to see how the schedule fares at night.

I found another route I think I will try, the 348. Not only does it have twice the number of buses, it also comes in earlier and leaves earlier in the afternoon. I'll definitely have to give that one a try. It may turn out being like every other inaccurate UTA schedule but I don't have first hand knowledge yet.

Time estimates for driving, bus and bus/trax

Starting: 70th South, 5600 West.
Arrival: 300 West North Temple

Driving: 35 minutes (I still need to verify this but once I've done that I'll post it)
Bus (356): Leave house at 7:05 driving, catch bus at 7:13 - arrive downtown at 8:10
Bus (62) w/TRAX: catch bus at 6:47, arrive at 5300 South TRAX ~ 7:23, wait 5 minutes for TRAX 7:28 - 7:54

Total Times:

Driving: 35 minutes
Bus Only: 1 Hour 5 Minutes
Bus w/TRAX: 1 Hour 2 Minutes

I think I'm a little surprised by the Bus w/TRAX option as it seems that taking one form of transportation should be quicker than taking two. I'll be performing an experiment over the next couple weeks to see if my numbers add up over time. I'll let you know how it goes.

Is your bus late enough?

I think the UTA should update their schedules more often based on real data. Of course, I think the drivers should try and stick to the posted schedule, but I think that riders should carry atomic watches and keep track of stops and gather data. I suppose that the UTA could probably do this as well but I suppose the incentive isn't really there. I know this would help my route as people who depend on it for getting to work on time are sorely disappointed when it arrives 10-15 minutes later than it's advertised as arriving each day.

What my co-worker says

My co-worker says he's for public transportation as long as it's not heavily subsidized, and it's fast. I agree.