Daily bus service coming to area

Twice daily bus service from the Wasatch Front to San Juan County will begin in April. Salt Lake Express Bus Service will offer transportation that initiates in Blanding and terminates at the Salt Lake International Airport.
Daily service will leave Blanding each morning at 3:30 a.m. and arrive in Salt Lake City by 10 a.m. An afternoon service will leave Blanding at 4 p.m. and arrive in Salt Lake City by 10:30 p.m.
Buses arrive in Blanding at 1 p.m. and 1 a.m. each day.
The fares will be $35 to $40. They will also transport parcels and luggage for a fee.
The service will offer connections with Greyhound Bus Service in Green River and the Wasatch Front, in addition to links for Amtrak, airports, major hospitals and bus service into Idaho, Wyoming and Montana.
Kathy Pope, of Salt Lake Express Bus Service, discussed the service at the January 22 meeting of the Blanding City Council.
She said the business has successfully operated bus service for 17 years between Salt Lake City and Rexburg, ID. They currently offer service ten times a day, with routes into southern Idaho; Butte, MT; West Yellowstone and Jackson, WY; and Boise, ID. The company served more than 156,000 passengers in 2011.
Pope said that a Utah Department of Transportation study identified two big gaps in bus service in Utah, including routes into southeast Utah and into Sanpete and Sevier counties. The company will open both routes in coming months.
Reservations are required to use the service and can be made online or by telephone. Pope said the company operates full-sized coaches on other routes but expects to operate 16-passenger vehicles to the area until ridership grows.
The company website can be found at www.saltlakeexpress.com.