SALT LAKE CITY — The new top executive at the Utah Transit Authority reiterated his vision for 2017 and asked for the funding he believes will be required to achieve that progress starting next year.

UTA chief Jerry Benson Wednesday made the agency’s case for approval of a $387.1 million budget for the coming year at the agency’s monthly meeting of the UTA board of trustees. The amount represents a nearly 3 percent hike from 2016 and includes funding for development of a bus-rapid transit project in Utah County and increasing operational productivity.

“Our capitol revenue is projected to increase by about $44 million, largely because of federal money anticipated for the Provo/Orem (transportation improvement) project,” he said. “With that said, UTA is not projecting to have to use any reserve funds.”

Benson also proposed to extend the FAREPAY promotional discount for rail and bus through next year. The promotion allows riders save 40 percent off bus fare and up to 20 percent off rail fare when they use a FAREPAY card. The proposal was part of the agency’s tentative budget, which was approved by the UTA board on Wednesday and is expected to be finalized in December following a public comment period next month.

E-mail: jlee@deseretnews.com

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