Valley Regional Transit

Valley Regional Transit (abbreviated VRT) and doing business as ValleyRide, is a public agency which is the main provider of mass transit service in metropolitan Boise, Idaho. Eighteen routes operate in Ada County with seven of these providing six-day-per-week service in Boise. An on-demand service is provided in Canyon County. Four intercounty commuter lines are also offered. Both a peak hour express route and an all-day limited-stop incarnation of the same route connect Nampa and Meridian. Service also connects Boise State University with the College of Western Idaho in Nampa in which a third express route directly links the two. A fourth express route only runs twice per day in each direction connecting Caldwell and Boise.[1]

Valley Regional Transit

A VRT bus departing from the underground Main Street Station in downtown Boise
Founded	1977
Headquarters	700 NE 2nd St. #100
Locale	Meridian, Idaho
Service area	Ada County, Idaho Canyon County, Idaho
Service type	bus service
Routes	23[1]
Stations	Main Street Station, Happy Day Transit Center
Fleet	About 50 Buses
Daily ridership	About 1,320,000 annually
Fuel type	CNG & Diesel
Operator	First Transit
Website	ValleyRide

VRT also operates Boise GreenBike, the city's bicycle-sharing system that was launched in 2015.[2]

Fares

As of January 2021, fares are as follows:

Fare Type	Local	Universal
Single ride	$1.50	$4.50
Day pass	$2.50	$7.50
31-day pass	$42	$90
Year pass	$282	$594

Local fares apply to all routes except for 42, 43, and 45. These intercounty routes require a universal fare. For students, seniors, and people with disabilities, the single ride, day pass, and 31-day passes are offered for half price.[3]

Routes

Ada County

Routes within Ada County mainly originate from Main Street Station or nearby along Main Street, although some routes originate from the Boise Towne Square Mall.[1]

Route		Name	From	Via	To	Notes
	1	Harris Ranch via Parkcenter	Main Street Station	Boise State Transit Center	Millspur Loop
	2	Broadway	Main Street Station		Boise Airport	Has Saturday service
	3	Vista	Main Street Station		Boise Airport	Has Saturday service
	4	Roosevelt	Main Street Station		Boise Airport
	5	Emerald	Main Street Station		Towne Square Mall	Has Saturday service
	6	Orchard	Main Street Station		Curtis & Franklin	Has Saturday service
	7A	Fairview/Ustick	Main Street Station		Cole & Ustick	Has Saturday service, serves additional stops north to Goddard Road twice per day
	7B	Fairview/Towne Square Mall	Main Street Station		Towne Square Mall	Has Saturday service
	8	Five Mile	Towne Square Mall		State of Idaho Campus
	8X	Five Mile/Chinden Express	Towne Square Mall	State of Idaho Campus, Main Street Station	Towne Square Mall	Runs clockwise in the morning, counterclockwise in the afternoon
	9	State Street	Main Street Station		Gary & Bunch	Has Saturday service, serves State & Ballantyne P&R seven times per day during weekdays
	10	Hill Road	Main Street Station		State & Ellens Ferry
	11	Garden City	Main Street Station		Alworth & Kent	Runs clockwise within Garden City in the morning, counterclockwise in the afternoon
	12	Maple Grove	Towne Square Mall		Gillis & Gary
	16	VA/Hyde Park	Main & 8th (near Main Street Station)	VA Medical Center	13th & Ridenbaugh
	17	Warm Springs	Main & 8th (near Main Street Station)		Old Penitentiary at Botanical Gardens
	28	Cole/Victory	Towne Square Mall		Pro Tech at Frank Church High School
	29	Overland	Towne Square Mall		Boise State Transit Center	Has Saturday service

Canyon County

As of October 5th, 2020, the three previously fixed-route Canyon County services were replaced by the on-demand route 150. During this pilot program, riders can either use a mobile app or call VRT to request a ride between any bus stops within the Canyon County service area.[4][5][6]

Intercounty

Route		Name	From	Via	To	Notes
	40	Nampa/Meridian Express	Happy Day Transit Center	CWI, Idaho & 9th or Main & 8th (near Main Street Station)	Boise State Transit Center	Runs clockwise within downtown Boise in the morning, counterclockwise in the afternoon
	42	Happy Day Transit Center/Towne Square Mall	Happy Day Transit Center	CWI	Towne Square Mall
	43	Caldwell Express	Jefferson Middle School	Idaho & 9th or Main & 8th (near Main Street Station), Boise State Transit Center	University & Earle	Runs four times per day during peak times
	45	Boise State/CWI Express	CWI		Boise State Transit Center

Facilities

Main Street Station

The lobby of Main Street Station

Located underground beneath City Center Plaza in downtown Boise, Main Street Station serves as Boise's main transit center. The majority of services within the city arrive underground at the station, although some arrive above ground on Main Street.[7][8] In addition to VRT buses, Boise State University shuttle buses also serve the station, as the university's computer science department occupies two floors of the City Center Plaza building. These free shuttle buses run in a loop between Main Street Station and the Boise State Transit Center.[9][10]

History

In 1994, the Idaho Legislature passed a law that allows cities or counties to place the creation of regional public transportation authorities on the ballot to request voter approval.[11] In November 1998, voters in Ada and Canyon Counties approved creating an RPTA for their respective counties. A few months later, in January 1999, The boards of directors of the Ada County and Canyon County RPTAs voted to merge the two organizations, creating the Treasure Valley Regional Transportation Authority. The organization went through a few more name changes, becoming VIATrans, short for Valley InterArea Transporation,[12] and then ValleyRide in June 2002. In July of that year, ValleyRide took over operations of Boise Urban Stages, which had been the operator of bus service in the city of Boise since 1973. By 2003, ValleyRide also operated service in Garden City previously offered by Garden City Interline, and had agreements with Treasure Valley Transit and Commuters Bus for the operation of the intercounty routes.[13] In November 2004, the organization was renamed to Valley Regional Transit, with the ValleyRide name being used to describe the services offered. On March 1st, 2005, the agreements with Treasure Valley Transit and Commuters Bus for the intercounty routes expired, and VRT began using First Transit to provide service on intercounty routes as well as routes within Canyon County.[14]

On April 15th, 2015, VRT launched Boise Greenbike, the city's bicycle-sharing system.[2][15] At the end of September 2020, VRT suspended the program, with plans to restart it in the spring of 2021 using electric-assist bikes.[16]

Future Projects

In January 2020, Valley Regional Transit agreed to buy 12 battery electric buses from Proterra. The first of these are expected to go into service in early 2021 on a new route in Meridian.[17] This route, linking Kleiner Park and a business center at the intersection of Ten Mile Road and Franklin Road, would be VRT's first to serve the downtown Meridian area.[18][19]

Longer-term plans include increasing frequency on its most used routes, upgrading its maintenance facility, improving bus stops, and introducing an integrated fare payment system.[20][21] Additionally, depending on the success of the on-demand pilot in Canyon County, a similar program could be considered for Boise.[22]

References

1. "Routes Archive - Valley Regional Transit". Valley Regional Transit. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
2. Jaszewski, Joe (April 15, 2015). "Get a first look at Boise GreenBike, the new bike-sharing system". Idaho Statesman. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
3. "Fares and Passes - Valley Regional Transit". Valley Regional Transit. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
4. "Long-Term Service Changes - Valley Regional Transit". Valley Regional Transit. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
5. "Nampa / Caldwell OnDemand Service - Valley Regional Transit". Valley Regional Transit. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
6. "ValleyRide bus service in Nampa/Caldwell moves to on-demand". KTVB-TV. 2020-10-05. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
7. "Treasure Valley Bus Stations, Locations, & Offices - Valley Regional Transit". Valley Regional Transit. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
8. Berg, Sven (2016-10-24). "Boise's new Downtown transit center is open. Here's how to use it". Idaho Statesman. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
9. "CCP Building Information - Computer Science". Boise State University. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
10. "Bronco Shuttle - Transportation and Parking". Boise State University. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
11. "Idaho Statutes (40-2105)". State of Idaho. 1994. Archived from the original on 2021-02-01. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
12. "Valley InterArea Transportation's Transit Development Plan" (PDF). Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-03-04. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
13. "Our History". ValleyRide. Archived from the original on 2003-07-13.
14. "Our History". ValleyRide. Archived from the original on 2006-02-13.
15. "Boise GreenBike FY2016 Annual Report" (PDF). Boise Bike Share. Valley Regional Transit. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-06-14. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
16. "Pushing the pause button with Boise GreenBike - Valley Regional Transit". Valley Regional Transit. 2020-03-16. Archived from the original on 2021-01-18. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
17. "Some Valley Regional Transit buses going electric". KIVI. 2020-01-28. Archived from the original on 2020-02-01. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
18. "Valley Regional Transit seeks public opinion on bus service in Meridian". KIVI. 2020-01-28. Archived from the original on 2020-03-13. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
19. "Meridian Fixed-Route Service". Valley Regional Transit. Archived from the original on 2021-01-28. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
20. "Capital & Service Planning". Valley Regional Transit. Archived from the original on 2021-01-28. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
21. "Executive Board Meeting Agenda" (PDF). Valley Regional Transit. 2021-02-01. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
22. "Draft FY2021-25 Transportation Development Plan" (PDF). Valley Regional Transit. November 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-02-02. Retrieved 2021-02-01.

External links

• Official website