Valley Regional Transit announces final bus network redesign

BOISE, Idaho — After much planning, Valley Regional Transit has proposed their final bus network redesign.

This new proposal has more stops and combined routes with some routes unfortunately being taken away.

Valley regional transit has announced their final bus proposal now from here they'll take public input to see where they need to make those final revisions.

“I think the staff did a great. job at taking public comments that we got on three proposals that we first put out and combining them into one proposal,” Elaine Clegg

CEO OF Valley Regional Transit, Elaine Clegg, says one of the biggest change bus riders would see is more frequent bus arrivals on corridors like Fairview, Cole Road, and Overland along with more connection points.

"We also changed some of the connection points so Orchard for instance doesn't go downtown anymore but it does connect to state street. I think that's a really good improvement because right now there's not a cross town connection,” says Clegg.

The Overland route will also be extended to Downtown. Buses moving through Meridian will be combined, with connections to downtown Boise and Downtown Nampa. Many riders we spoke to say their overall ride is fine but wish there were shorter wait times.

Catherine York is a first time rider, her car is currently being repaired, so another alternative was riding the bus.

She said she didn’t have any problems navigating the bus, the only thing she would change is the wait time.

“Sometimes the wait times are just too far away depending on where you're at,” says York

Bus rider Marshall Bergman says, “I think if it had if I had more time options so you wouldn't have to leave quit so early.”

Some riders also want more accessibility when it comes to using public transit on the weekends.

David Koceiol rides the bus every week, he enjoys his rides and thinks everyone should utilize the bus.

However, for David, trying to find a ride to church on Sunday can be a little difficult.

“Generally I think the big problem is Sunday service later service the service is early it starts at 5 so that's not a problem,” says Koceiol.

All of these inputs are taken into consideration, that's how the final proposal came about, VRT is currently taking more public input until September 15th.

From there on October 2nd the board of directors will meet and review the final proposal, but these service changes won't be implemented until Summer 2024.

Valley Regional Transit is currently taking public input for their final redesign until September 15.

You can also attend public hearings in Boise, Nampa, Caldwell, and Meridian.