Utah Bothered! Are you bothered too, Utah?
Why am I Utah bothered today? The scuttlebutt in my group chat today started off with the iPhone message chime around 9:30 in the morning like it always does. Someone posts a news story and for the next couple of hours, we all started making all kinds of jokes, claims, ideas, and solutions about how this can all be fixed as if any of my friends or I had any power to fix anything. So here are the two biggest bothers for me today.
First Utah Bother of the Day
Hopefully, this guy isn’t heading trying to make his way up to Brighton 3 months from now. | Photo: Shutterstock
The first bothersome happening was the story as reported by Fox 13 and The Salt Lake Tribune that UTA is sharply cutting bus service this year due to a lack of drivers. Starting December 11th, UTA will cut service to 20 bus routes in a few counties. Now this will inconvenience many people, like those of us who love to ride the ski bus up to our favorite resorts. Sure it can be crowded and often you wish there were running more buses, but it’s convenient. Especially if you have a pass that includes the ride to winter magnificence. The park and ride situation is a completely different bother we can talk about later.
UTA blames COVID for the inability to retain drivers. You can read into it what you will and have long thoughts about it all shred season long as you sit in traffic, trying to get up the canyons for a few turns. According to some, this is a ploy to force the controversial gondola down everyone’s throats.
With all the gondola talk and winter traffic problems in the canyons UTA decides to offer less service? What a joke Utahs efforts at mass transit have become.
— Tom 🧨⭕️ (@TomTom4208) September 28, 2022
Another theory is that a UTA bus driving gig doesn’t pay enough to attract job seekers. Maybe, maybe not, but the fact is that the growth that Utah has been dealing with and will continue to see isn’t going to help out this problem any time soon.
I don’t know the pay for a typical bus driver for the UTA, but I would assume you can’t find them because of a combination of the following:
a.) Low pay
b.) Insufficient benefits
c.) Poor work environment
d.) Bad managementJust my 2 cents. 🤷
— Sterling Chin (@SilverJaw82) September 28, 2022
According to the Trib’s report, UTA is “hoping that this is not, obviously, a long-term issue, but we want to prioritize safe, reliable transit service.” Fingers crossed. Public transit is great. I have been using a lot of it since my car has been in the shop for the past two weeks and it works most of the time.
Second Utah Bother of the Day
Photo: Shutterstock
About 3:30 in the afternoon the iPhone was buzzing again with more bothersome information for group chat fodder. It seems the DABS (Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services) decided that with 11 bars vying for a license and one to spare, they’d…not give it to anyone. NO LICENSE FOR YOU! Any of you! Perhaps BADS, Beverage Anti Divvying Service, (I’m bad at acronyms, obviously) would be a better title.
According to The Salt Lake Tribune, a couple of the businesses were looking for upgrades to pour higher point beers among 9 others looking for the official state-legal blessing to serve the thirsty masses. Fisher Brewing Company has expanded its capacity for events like weddings, but it’s hard to have a wedding without champagne.
One liquor commissioner said the fault for the shortage of bar licenses in the state is with the Utah Legislature.https://t.co/6N5xCeR3nM
— The Salt Lake Tribune (@sltrib) September 28, 2022
Again, as Utah grows in population and becomes more diverse, we are going to keep bumping our heads into the libation law. Could you blame some business owners for becoming cautious about expanding and inventing more in their businesses? Isn’t growth what we want for Utah businesses? Thinking about it really makes me feel like I could go for a lager right about now. Complaining is exhausting.
Look at this tweet from KUTV from 2009. We just can’t seem to get off of this merry-go-round, can we?
One Liquor License Left : Utah has one remaining liquor license for restaurants, although another one is expecte.. http://bit.ly/sbRJn
— KUTV2news (@KUTV2News) August 20, 2009
This free market stuff is tricky in the land of bees and…not fermented honey. Not without a license, pal! They will have another potential liquor license knighthood meeting in October. Until then, be happy with what you have, ya heathens!
Now that’s all off my chest, I feel about 10% less bothered.
