Wireless Internet coming to UTA buses

Caleb Warnock

Utah Transit Authority is encouraging Utah Valley residents to add their commute to their time sheet at work.

Wireless Internet is coming to express buses across the state --about 65 buses in all, UTA has announced. Riders with laptops will be able to use the service for free.

The technology was tested on four buses last fall and met with kudos from riders, said Abraham Kololli, deputy chief of technology for UTA.

"We got really good comments," he said.

Because of the positive response from the test and a survey of riders, UTA is now spending between $150,000 to $200,000 to install the service on all its express buses. Laptop users should be able to access the Internet by early March at the latest, he said.

The service allows professionals to log-in remotely to their office e-mail, for example, and get work done during the hour-long ride to Salt Lake. Do the same on the way home and suddenly your commute could count toward your 40-hour work week.

"We had a lawyer say 'I would like to start charging clients as soon I get on the bus,' " said Kololli with a laugh. "A lot of people were talking about how they loved the fact they could be getting into the bus and being in the office at the same time. That way they don't have 30 e-mails to go through when they get to the office."

The service is hooked to a cellular connection on the bus and "is fairly reliable," but riders may occasionally lose their Internet connection if the bus loses its cellular connection. Internet security would be the same as using wireless Internet anywhere, he said.

The service also will allow UTA to know the exact location of all its express buses via GPS locator, he said.

Free wireless service also will be available on FrontRunner commuter rail when it arrives in Utah Valley in the next several years, said Carrie Bohnsack-Ware of UTA. A groundbreaking ceremony for the Utah County leg of commuter rail will be held later this year.

There is no plan to add wireless service to non-express buses because people generally take shorter rides on non-express buses and need to watch for their stop, two reasons why Internet service may not be a good fit for riders of non-express buses.