MAX had service improvements that differed from regular bus service, such as Transit Signal Priority (TSP), increased spacing between stops, high-frequency service, and improved stops.[10] The MAX lines had limited stops (often at major transfer points).[Note 2] MAX operated along a limited one-mile stretch of dedicated fixed guideway, separated from regular traffic. The first such fixed guideway was built for the MAX service in West Valley City on 3500 South from 3600 West to 2700 West.[11]
Another characteristic that distinguished MAX from regular bus service is that it did not have a set schedule for all of its stops (although there are estimated times for arrival). MAX would leave its first stop and travel as fast as legally and safely possible to the end of the line.[10]
The first MAX line (3500 South MAX) opened on July 14, 2008.[1][10] The service was discontinued on August 7, 2022.
Another feature of MAX was that passengers could enter the unique buses by any door and do not have to show proof of fare to the driver upon boarding. Although fare payment (including the use bus tokens) could be made at the farebox upon boarding the front of the MAX bus, MAX stations also had ticket vending machines that accepted cash or credit cards.[12][13][Note 3] Fares were never truly enforced as they were on the TRAX and FrontRunner. MAX tickets served as a transfer to other UTA modes of transit.[10][15]
Future MAX lines
This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (August 2023)
There will not be any future MAX lines. There will continue to be BRT lines studied in the UTA Service Area including along 5600 West in Salt Lake County, Taylorsville/Murray area (4700 South), Holladay/Cottonwood Heights area (Wasatch Boulevard) and in Davis County.[16] On July 8, 2014, Davis County unanimously approved a resolution in support of a BRT route connecting downtown Salt Lake City with Bountiful.[17]
The 3500 South MAX[5] line connected Magna with the West Valley Central TRAX Station in West Valley City and the Millcreek TRAX station in South Salt Lake, traveling along a route of 10 miles (16 km) on 3500 and 3300 South (SR-171).[16] It was the first of several BRT lines that UTA is planning for the Salt Lake Valley and Utah County.[18] Costs for the project totaled $17 million (equivalent to $24,057,000 in 2023); a light rail extension along the same route would have cost $100 million.[18] Original plans were to discontinue MAX service between the Millcreek and West Valley Central TRAX Stations once the West Valley extension of the TRAX Green Line was completed. However, even though the Green Line began service in August 2011, as of May 2014, service between the two TRAX stations still continued.[5] The 3500 South MAX ran Monday through Saturday (no Sunday service) from about 6:00 am to midnight (every fifteen minutes on weekdays and every half-hour on Saturdays). It was permanently discontinued on August 7, 2022, after a year of being temporarily suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[19][20][21]
Notes
^The meaning and origins of the name "MAX" was never identified or specified by UTA (as it has in the case of TRAX, which is a shortened version of "Transit Express").[6][7] However, the term MAX, as a shortening of Metropolitan (or Metro) Area Express, has been used in conjunction with bus rapid transit (BRT) since June 2004 by the Metropolitan Area Express in the Las Vegas Valley in Nevada[8] and since July 2005 by the Metro Area Express in Kansas City, Missouri[9]
^Many "stops" or stations on a MAX line actually consist of two separate stations, one for each direction of travel, usually on opposite sides of the road and sometimes on opposite sides of an intersection. On sections of the line where MAX has dedicated travel lanes (guideways), the stations are located in the median of the road.
^Although some of UTA's ticket vending machines previously accepted bus tokens as payment, as of September 1, 2008, none of UTA's ticket machines accept bus tokens.[14]
