So, I'm going to be taking the Red Line from Daybreak to the U everyday starting next week. What do I have to look forward to? I've spent a fair bit of time on BART and TRIMET so I'm not new to the blessings of Mass Transit but I figured I'd ask. Should I carry? Is it a j-frame or G20 with reloads sort of crowd? Thanks.

Ken

It only gets sort of sketch around the FARE FREE ZONE downtown when the bums get on for a free ride.

Always pay your fare though, have your student ID handy and rehearse your response to getting asked to show proof of fare to TRAX POLICE.  The fine is heinious!

I suppose, one would want to declare the CCW during such an encounter as well.

Again, rehearse that though.  Nothing like being nervous/excited/tired and blurting out "I HAVE A GUN"....

Practice it.

 There are some freaks that ride the train, but, nothing too nefarious.

 Get your poker face on, if you make eye contact be prepared to listen to their mantra/monologue or have a I DON'T CARE response ready.  Nothing too witty, or a personal attack, just dead eyes and "I AIN'T GOT TIME" - or you can opt to listen to the street evangelicals or doom prophets - just be prepared that once they know they have an audience, the performance may become real animated or dramatic.  They taken an inch & turn it into a mile - its tough to shut them up short of hopping a stop - sometimes they follow like a blood hound.

It can take about an hour to get there, sometimes the train will break down at the bottom of the hill before making it up to the U.  Develop a TTP for hoofing it in ALL WEATHER rather than waiting the HOURS for another train or bus.

~Will

Having ridden BART and the Chicago L-trains once or twice, the TRAX crowd isn't even close. Yeah, there are a few nutjobs and people with questionable hygiene skills, but it's generally pretty mellow. I carry my j-frame if wearing dockers and bring a G19 or my lightweight 1911 when wearing jeans.




 

So far, no one has pissed in the corner of the train while I've been on it so we're doing well compared to BART. It's super convenient; I just hope it holds up in the winter. I'd hate to have to hump it up that hill in the snow. Thanks for the tips.

If you see my BFL in the institute parking lot, leave me a note or something.

I like watching the progression of passengers along the route. I sometimes ride to or from the airport living in Sandy. It's interesting to see it get nuttier and smellier the closer you get to the city, then more normal and cleaner the closer you get to the airport or Sandy.

This past February I took my kids on Trax to meet my brother downtown. We rode from DayBreak to Courthouse, then changed trains to Arena. When we got on the second train my son pulls a funny face and asks, "What is that smell?" I had to laugh. The train between DayBreak and Courthouse had a homeless guy sleeping on it. When we made the trip home a few hours later, we managed to end up with him on the train again, although this time he had changed positions and picked up a Little Caesars pizza somewhere along the way. the few times I have ridden it in the colder months it seems like some of the homeless use it as a place to get out of the cold.

Had a few crazies on it too. One guy just kept staring at my then three year old daughter. I was just getting ready to get off the train when a UTA Police Officer I knew got on the train. He stopped and talked to us for a few minutes, then cited the creeper for not having a valid ticket and kicked him off the train.

To the OP, Trax won't be as bad as the bigger cities, but we do have our fair share of crazy people around town. My advise, keep your eyes and ears open while on the train. It kills me to see how many girls hop on the train with headphones on and their nose buried in a book.

I'm in Draper. I've noticed a very similar phenomenon.

 

My teen daughter and her friends ride it down town from DB fairly regularly. Never had a problem. I have ridden it several times to games downtown and never had any issues either. It is pretty tame.

I'm quite happy that it's legal to carry at the U.  I take the bus most days but have yet to try out the Trax.

When I was having treatments up at the Huntsman Cancer Center (It's a the U of U) I rode the Red Line from West Jordan about 3 days a week.  No real problems at all.  If you have ridden the trains in NYC, Chicago,
DC, St. Louis etc.  it will be a piece of cake.  I've probably ridden up to the "U" 40 times since the first of the year and never a problem of any kind.  Only occasionally run into a smelly, or weirdo.  As has been said the UTA Police check for paid fares quite often (make sure you pay) and that helps keep the riff raff off the train.