New way to get around: UTA ride-share service launched in northern Utah County
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- UDOT transit director Jim Golden steps out of a UTA on-demand vehicle and is met by other public officials Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in Lehi.
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- Utah County Commission Chair Skyler Beltran speaks at a UTA event Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in Lehi.
The transportation game in northern Utah County has changed thanks to a new public rideshare service that can deliver people where they need to go.
Launched on Aug. 16, the UTA On Demand Zone covers a 77-square-mile area in Eagle Mountain, Saratoga Springs, Lehi, American Fork and Highland. Individuals living within the zone can request a low-cost ride through the UTA On Demand app to go to other locations within the zone, such as work or the store, or the Lehi and American Fork FrontRunner stations.
Funded by Utah County fifth-fifth sales tax and the Utah Department of Transportation, the service is intended to reduce the traffic burden in the area while giving people without cars a way to get around.
“Northern Utah County is now connected regionally,” UTA Executive Director Jay Fox said at a ceremony to celebrate the program Thursday in Lehi. “Whether a customer wants to travel within Lehi or Eagle Mountain or Saratoga Springs or beyond to Orem and Provo to South Jordan or Sandy to Salt Lake City to Ogden, those who ride UTA are part of a regional transportation system that connects us all.”
State leaders are working to build infrastructure needed to catch up to the population boom taking place in Eagle Mountain, Saratoga Springs and Lehi and reduce the heavy congestion that impacts drivers in the corridor on a daily basis. The state legislature approved $1.4 billion in funding for UDOT projects in the area, including the ongoing construction to turn 2100 North in Lehi into a freeway.
The traffic issue is also a top priority for Utah County officials.
Commission Chair Skyler Beltran said Utah County is an underserved area for public transportation and that about a year-and-a-half ago they held an intergovernmental meeting to work on a solution.
The county faced hurdles getting support for public transportation. Beltran said he frequently heard that investment into Utah County wasn’t warranted because there wasn’t utilization. He said his argument was that there was nothing to ride.
UTA and the county came to an agreement on the rideshare service earlier this year, with the county fifth-fifth sales tax dollars paying for much of it. County Administrator Ezra Nair told the Daily Herald in March that they have $18.5 million budgeted for the project over the next five years, but the exact figure used will depend on usage and where trips originate from.
If used, the rideshare program may serve as a proof of concept that public transportation is wanted in Utah County. Beltran said the on-demand service will give UTA and UDOT the critical data it needs to build out more transportation options in the future.
“This will tell us where they’re starting, where they’re originating, where they’re going,” Beltran said. “Are 50% of our trips going to a FrontRunner station, or 20% going to Walmart? Then that allows us in the future to not only build roads with dedicated lanes, but when we go to a fixed route we’ll know where the route needs to be instead of guessing.”
Placing people in a rideshare vehicle may take cars off the road, while also giving those who don’t drive a viable option for getting around.
“As you have proximity to students, elderly, disabled, that is an economic driver that is untapped because they can’t get anywhere,” Beltran said. “So this will allow us to move those people to get a job, to get to the pharmacy.”
Fairs are $2.50 per ride or $1 for qualified reduced fare riders. Fox said there have already been 1,003 completed rides since Aug. 16.
