A group of citizens saw the need that a segment of the population had limited or no transportation options. This transportation-challenged group consisted of individuals with low income, disabilities, elderly and those without a driver’s license. A grassroots effort led to a transit initiative being placed on the ballot in Logan, Utah. The voters supported the creation and funding, through taxes, of a transit district in 1990. Transit services began zero-fare for citizens and visitors of Logan on April 27, 1992. Services were funded by a local sales tax and through Federal Transit Administration Urbanized Area Formula Program grants.
The Logan Transit District started out with seven 26-foot buses and 3 routes. Service was provided 6:15 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. Monday through Friday, and limited services on Saturday. There was stronger than expected response to the service from the opening day.
In July of 1996 weekday bus service was extended until 8:45 p.m. Monday through Friday, and Saturday service was provided every 30 minutes from 9:15 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. Two more routes were also added, including more frequent peak time service on the busiest routes.
The Logan Transit District was proud to announce in June of 1997 that it surpassed one million passenger trips in a single year. A celebration was held and the one millionth rider was awarded prizes. In the years of 1996-1997 eleven new 32-foot ElDorado Transmark buses were purchased.
On April 19, 1998, the bus garage facility opened its doors. It houses the Administration, Operations and Maintenance functions all at one facility. It also provides storage of transit vehicles in a fenced and secured site.
Establishing the CVTD on November 7, 2000, Cache Valley voters elected to establish the Cache Valley Transit District (CVTD). As part of this public referendum, voters ratified the creation of a special service district that includes the cities of Richmond, Smithfield, Hyde Park, North Logan, River Heights, Providence, Millville, Nibley, and Hyrum. In addition, sales tax was established to fund the CVTD. Lewiston City was also added to the district at a later date.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the new Intermodal Transit Center took place at the selected site 150 East 500 North in Logan on Wednesday, March 14, 2001. On August 24, 2001, the community celebrated the Grand Opening of the new Intermodal Transit Center. On this same day, the first CVTD buses were boarded and began service.
Since its beginning as the Logan Transit District and then later as the Cache Valley Transit District, annual passenger trips increased, growing from 450,000 in 1992 to 1,000,000 in 1997 to a major milestone of 2 million in 2011.
The bus fleet expanded to 35, made up of 26 fixed-route and 9 paratransit coaches. Annual revenue service miles operated are just over 900,000. In May, 2012, CVTD expanded paratransit service called “Call-A-Ride,” significantly enhancing service opportunities for the special needs community.
From 2000 to 2007, the two Districts, LTD and CVTD, operated independently, serving Logan City and the Cache Valley respectively. On February 23, 2007, LTD was annexed into the CVTD. The CVTD is governed by a 19 member board of trustees appointed by the county council and city councils of cities within the District. Board of Trustees members are selected without regard to partisan political affiliation from among citizens in the community.
On November 7, 2000, Cache Valley voters elected to establish the Cache Valley Transit District (CVTD). As part of this public referendum, voters ratified the creation of a special service district that includes the cities of Richmond, Smithfield, Hyde Park, North Logan, River Heights, Providence, Millville, Nibley, and Hyrum. In addition, sales tax was established to fund the CVTD. Lewiston City was also added to the district at a later date.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the new Intermodal Transit Center took place at the selected site 150 East 500 North in Logan on Wednesday, March 14, 2001. On August 24, 2001, the community celebrated the Grand Opening of the new Intermodal Transit Center. On this same day, the first CVTD buses were boarded and began service.
Since its beginning as the Logan Transit District and then later as the Cache Valley Transit District, annual passenger trips increased, growing from 450,000 in 1992 to 1,000,000 in 1997 to a major milestone of 2 million in 2011.
The bus fleet expanded to 35, made up of 26 fixed-route and 9 paratransit coaches. Annual revenue service miles operated are just over 900,000. In May, 2012, CVTD expanded paratransit service called “Call-A-Ride,” significantly enhancing service opportunities for the special needs community.
From 2000 to 2007, the two Districts, LTD and CVTD, operated independently, serving Logan City and the Cache Valley respectively. On February 23, 2007, LTD was annexed into the CVTD. The CVTD is governed by a 19 member board of trustees appointed by the county council and city councils of cities within the District. Board of Trustees members are selected without regard to partisan political affiliation from among citizens in the community.
In 2012, CVTD was awarded the “Thanks for the Lift” award by the Federal Transit Administration. Terry Rosapep, FTA Region 8 Regional Administrator, stated, “The FTA Region 8 Award for Ridership considered three factors: the increase in ridership over the last 10 years, the efficiency of the transit services considering operating costs, and the magnitude of transit usage considering the overall population of the community. That Cache Valley Transit was tops overall in the six states that encompass FTA Region 8, reflects the professionalism and dedication of its staff, and the strong support for transit within the Cache Valley community by residents, the University, and businesses.” In 2015, CVTD was awarded the Community Transportation Association of America’s 2015 Urban Transit System Of the Year award.
Board Meetings are held on the 4th Wednesday of every month at 5:45 pm at the Bridgerland Applied Technology College, 1301 N 600 W Room 840, Logan. Board meetings are open to the public.
Late 80’s | Voters in Cache County vote down a local option sales tax to fund mass transit, however votes in Logan supported the measure. |
1989-90 | Small group of citizens see the need to help provide transportation to those that have no other options. They go door to door gathering support to put transit initiative on the ballot in Logan City. |
1990 | Logan City ballot has two questions: 1st: Shall the city create a Logan Transit District, 2nd Shall the transit district be funded with a .25% local option sales tax dedicated to mass transit? The voters supported creating and funding the transit district. |
1992 | After saving up sales tax revenues the Logan Transit District (department of the City of Logan) starts providing bus service in Logan in April 27, 1992. This service consists of three routes on hourly service. This first month there were 8,253 trips provided. |
Contracting | The Logan Transit District was a department of Logan City. Logan City contracted with a company known as DAVE Transportation Services, Inc. to hire and manage all of the employees for the bus service. DAVE Transportation also provided technical and operational expertise on how to operate the bus service. |
Fare Free | The citizens were told that the first year of service would be fare free in an effort to encourage ridership. The Board maintains a fare free policy for the economic impact and to incentivize the use of the service. The service remains fare free to this day and is a model to the country. The management team receives calls on a regular basis from other systems throughout the country research the fare free philosophy. |
1993 | After one full year of service there were 682,229 trips provided, the projection was 350,000. |
1996 | The Logan Transit District operated 365 days and more than 350,000 miles without a preventable accident. Additionally the employees worked in excess of 145,000 hours and 1,200 days without a preventable workplace injury. |
1997 | The Logan Transit District provides over 1 million trips during a single fiscal year with 1,051,569 trips provided. |
1998 | The Logan Transit District successfully applies and receives grant funding from the Federal Transit Administration to build an administration and maintenance building. |
2000 | The voters of Richmond, Smithfield, Hyde Park, North Logan, River Heights, Providence, Nibley, Millville and Hyrum are allowed to vote on the formation of the Cache Valley Transit District. The ballot has two questions: 1st: Shall the city create a Cache Valley Transit District, 2nd Shall the transit district be funded with a .25% local option sales tax dedicated to mass transit? The voters supported creating and funding the transit district. |
2000 | Medium duty buses are replaced with heavy duty transit coaches because of continued overcrowding and overloading. |
2001 | Bus service to the county begins in late August with retired buses leased from UTA. The transit center is completed in September and wins Best of Show the following year for masonry buildings |
2003 | The Logan and Cache Valley Transit Districts receive national recognition and are awarded the “Impact Award” by the Community Transportation Association of America as the system that provides the greatest impact to their community. |
2006 | Bus service to Franklin County, Idaho is started in October. |
2007 | In February the Cache Valley and Logan Transit Districts are successfully combined and a new Board consisting of members from each city where service is provided is created. |
2008 | Advertising on buses is allowed by the CVTD Board in response to local business requests and citizen input. |
2009 | CVTD continues to focus on providing the best possible service to the residents within the district, as a result the decision is made to end the contract with transportation contractor and all employees become employees of the district. |
2011 | CVTD provides over 2 million passengers trips in one calendar year for the first time in history. |
2012 | CVTD receives “Thanks for the Lift Award” from the Federal Transit Administration Region 8. Terry Rosapep, FTA Region 8 Regional Administrator stated, “The FTA Region 8 Award for Ridership considered three factors: the increase in ridership over the last 10 years; the efficiency of the transit services considering operating costs; and the magnitude of transit usage considering the overall population of the community. That Cache Valley Transit was tops overall in the six states that encompass FTA Region 8, reflects the professionalism and dedication of its staff, and the strong support for transit within the Cache Valley community by residents, the University, and businesses.” |
2013 | CVTD successfully secures grant funding to expand the Intermodal Transit Center to improve overall safety and security. These improvements increased the number of buses located at the hub and provided improved connection for Salt Lake Express service. |
2014 | CVTD completes park-n-ride facility east of the Intermodal Transit Center to allow for vehicle parking for passengers. |
2015 | CVTD receives the National Urban System of the Year award from the Community Transportation Association of America. |
2017 | CVTD celebrates 25 years of serving the residents of Cache County. |
2019 | CVTD partners with the Bear River Association of Governments to create a voucher program for medical and critical nutrition trips. The program funds mileage reimbursement for volunteer drivers to take qualified residents of Cache County to medical appointments and shopping for food. |
2020 | CVTD launches the LOOP. The first bi-directional frequency based service in Cache Valley. |
2020 | CVTD receives $18 million grant through the Federal Transit Administration to construct a new maintenance\administration building. |
2022 | CVTD celebrates 30 years of operating “ Zero Fare ” service in Cache County. |
2023 | CVTD designs new bus storage/maintenance and administration facility |
2024 | Construction begins on new bus storage/maintenance and administration facility |
2024 | CVTD rebrands as “Connect Public Transit.” This reflects the mission to connect the riders to the people and places that matter most. |
