Valley Regional Transit (abbreviated VRT) is a public agency which is the main provider of mass transit service in metropolitan Boise, Idaho. It operates 19 fixed-route services, mostly in Ada County, as well as one on-demand service in Canyon County.[1]
VRT also operates Safe Routes to School Treasure Valley.[2]
Fares
VRT offers a contactlesssmart card and mobile app under the City Go brand as methods to pay for rides, and also accepts cash and preloaded stored-value cards. The City Go app can be used to purchase passes, while the card can store a reloadable balance and features fare capping.[3]
As of March 2023, 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 40. This express intercounty route requires a universal fare. For youth, seniors, and people with disabilities, the single ride, day pass, and 31-day passes are offered for half price.[4]
Routes
Ada County
Routes within Ada County mainly originate from Main Street Station or nearby along Main Street, although some routes originate from shopping centers.[1]
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's eight bays, although some arrive above ground on Main Street.[8][9] 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.[10][11] Main Street Station opened on October 24, 2016.[9]
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.[12] 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 Transportation,[13] 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.[14] In November 2004, the organization was renamed to Valley Regional Transit, with the ValleyRide name being used to describe the services offered. On March 1, 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.[15]
On April 15, 2015, VRT launched Boise Greenbike, the city's bicycle-sharing system.[2][16] At the end of September 2020, VRT suspended the program, with plans to restart it in the spring of 2021 using electric-assist bikes.[17]
A VRT electric bus
In January 2020, Valley Regional Transit agreed to buy 12 battery electric buses from Proterra.[18] The buses were expected to enter service in 2021 on a new route in Meridian; it was to be the first to serve the downtown Meridian area.[19][20] The first four electric buses debuted in October 2021.[21]
Valley Regional Transit introduced the City Go integrated fare payment system in November 2021. It uses the Umo platform and comprises a smart card and mobile ticketing app.[22] Longer-term plans for the agency include increasing frequency on its most used routes, upgrading its maintenance facility, and improving bus stops.[23][24] Additionally, depending on the success of the on-demand pilot in Canyon County, a similar program could be considered for Boise.[25]
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