VRT Board of Directors releases final Better Bus Routes proposal

The Valley Regional Transit (VRT) Board of Directors have released the final Better Bus Routes proposal – the agency’s bus network redesign – for public comment. The proposal, which represents a 10 percent increase in total bus service and more frequent bus arrivals, includes:

• More buses arriving more often on highly used bus routes in Ada County, including an increase to 15-minute bus arrivals on the 7 Fairview.
• New bus routes in Caldwell and expanded on-demand service in Canyon County.
• Improved intercounty and cross-town connections (including new north-south options), with easier transfers to major destinations across the region.
• Service consolidation or reduction on less-used bus routes.
• Expanded transit connections through VRT’s partnership with Lyft to areas that would lose bus service.
• The introduction of Beyond ACCESS, a new regional service for qualifying older adults and persons with disabilities, providing no-cost trips in and between Ada and Canyon counties.

“Our goal has been to create a better bus system, including a move toward a higher-frequency network,” said VRT’s CEO Elaine Clegg. “Thanks to valuable community feedback, we believe we have struck a balance between buses arriving more often in critical places and offering service to areas that need it.”

Significant public input this spring helped shape the proposal. VRT is taking additional public feedback on the proposal until Sept. 15. Following the public comment period, VRT staff will analyze feedback and make final changes to the proposal. VRT’s Board of Directors will meet on Oct. 2 to review public comments and consider the final proposal. The agency plans to implement service changes by summer 2024.

Since April, VRT received significant public feedback through open houses, virtual town halls, surveys and a variety of other community outreach events. Staff used this feedback alongside ridership data, including ridership, proximity to bus stops, proximity to higher frequency routes and frequency of bus arrivals to guide decisions in the proposal development.

“We have heard concerns about losing service with this change, and we have made adjustments to the proposal accordingly,” Clegg said. “We also heard support for gaining service in places that don’t currently have any, and we are excited to extend service to places that we think will benefit.”