For the outbound routes 2, 16 and 17 stop on Main and 3rd is closed for long term, please use stop on Main and 1st. Thank you.
Due to construction both inbound routes 4 and 5 are on detour. From River, Left on 11th, Right on Myrtle, Left on Capitol. Stop at Capitol and River will be missed. No temp stops placed.
Inbound Route 29 going back to old detour. From Lincoln, right on University, left on Broadway to MSS. Temp Stop has been moved to Lincoln & University
Due to road closure on 8th Street, OB route 10 will be on detour from 5th Street to Fort Street. Stop on 8th and Franklin will be closed, no temp stop placed. Please go to next open stop to catch route 10.
Due to construction on State and Pierce Park area both stops on inbound and outbound sides are closed and no temp stops.
Due to road construction, route 16 is on detour. Stops on 1st/Idaho and 1st/Bannock will be closed, use stop on Main and 1st.
As city budgets in Idaho continue to face shortages due to legislative actions, transit funding remains a challenge. VRT will host Canyon County Transit Day on Tuesday, May 6, 2025 to gather community feedback about the future of public transit in Canyon County and work with partners and the public to find a path toward more stable funding.
The City of Nampa’s decisions are especially critical, as changes to Nampa’s transit funding would impact service within Nampa and across Canyon County. This would affect local on-demand rides and specialized services for seniors and individuals with disabilities. It would also impact commuter routes between Caldwell, Nampa, Meridian, and Boise.
The Nampa City Council considered cutting service last year but ultimately voted to maintain service.
In fiscal year 2024 (October 1, 2023 – September 30, 2024), VRT provided more than 58,000 trips originating in Canyon County through commuter bus services (Route 40 and 45), an all-day bus route (Route 42), and VRT On-Demand, VRT Access, Beyond Access, VRT Late Night (scheduled ride services), and other specialized programs. See below for more details on services provided.
Local contributions, like those from the City of Nampa, provide the local match that VRT uses to secure federal funding for many local services.
*These options will be made available to the public for feedback prior to May 6th.
VRT staff will host leaders, local businesses, and community organizations in a guided focus group to discuss how service choices in Canyon County might impact their customers, clients, and constituents.
VRT staff invites members of the public to learn about service choices, ask questions, and provide survey feedback. This event is come-as-you-please — there will be no formal presentation.
📅 Tuesday, May 6, 2025
🕒 3:00 PM – 7:00 PM
📍 Nampa Public Library (board room)
📍 Happy Day Transit Center (lobby)
To make it easy to participate, we’re offering free rides to and from the Open Houses on VRT Access, Beyond Access, and On-Demand services on May 6th. To reserve your ride to the event on VRT Access and Beyond Access, contact VRT Customer Service at 208-345-7433 or info@ridevrt.org and let us know you’re heading to Canyon County Transit Day. Fares will not be collected on Route 150 Nampa/Caldwell On-Demand.
🚌 VRT staff will be riding bus services in Canyon County throughout the day on May 6th to survey riders on service choices.
✏️ An online survey will be available until Friday, May 9th.
Take the survey
In addition to participating in Canyon County Transit Day, VRT is encouraging residents, businesses, and community organizations to submit statements of support for VRT’s funding requests to the cities of Nampa, Caldwell, and Canyon County. Statements and letters of support can be sent to development@ridevrt.org.
Spring and summer is budget outreach season for VRT. During these seasons we connect and present—often numerous times—with our 25 funding partners. Lacking our own taxing authority, VRT depends on voluntary contributions. We strive to build respect and support by consistently providing solid, specific and current information to our partners. Their voluntary contributions are highly valued, and we respect the gravity of the decision to support us with scarce funding.
An inherent weakness of these disparate annual budget decisions is the impact on our ability to plan for and provide service every year. VRT works to integrate budgets built by dozens of organizations into a connected service network that aligns with our federal responsibilities and provides reliable service to riders. Sometimes, choices to reduce funding catch us by surprise and don’t consider input from constituents affected. As a result, it becomes challenging to make informed, long-term plans to grow a public transportation system that people can count on.
This process is broken. It doesn’t work well for VRT or our partners and it doesn’t serve constituents in ways they need. Most importantly, since so much staff time is used on inefficient budget process and our funding for operations is so unpredictable, it inhibits our ability to do our most important work — providing our best services to the public.
The current model leaves us with inconsistent funding, which makes it nearly impossible to plan and provide reliable transportation services and burdens the strained budgets of our city and county partners. I look forward to working with our state leaders to find common sense solutions that allow all stakeholders a voice in a more consistent and reliable method to fund these vital services.
– Elaine Clegg, CEO
In June of 2024, VRT consolidated routes 40 and 43. Monday through Friday the 40 has four morning and afternoon express trips connecting Caldwell, Nampa, Meridian and Boise.
In June of 2024, VRT added service and changed the routing of the 42 to provide all day local connections between Caldwell, Nampa, Meridian and Boise. Monday through Friday the 42 to runs hourly between 6 am and 8 pm
In June of 2024, VRT added service and changed the routing of the 45 to provide peak connections between CWI, downtown Meridian, West Boise and Boise State University. Monday through Friday the 45 has 3 am trips and 4 pm trips.
In June of 2024, VRT simplified the service are for the 150 which provides on-demand transportation, similar to uber or lyft to the general public throughout Nampa and Caldwell. The service is available Monday through Friday between 6 am and 8 pm.
Access is a paratransit transportation service operated by Valley Regional Transit through the tax support of local municipalities. Designed to complement the fixed-route bus system, this service is available to people who are unable to utilize the fixed-route or on-demand bus systems because of a disability. Eligibility may be limited on a conditional basis, and each trip can be reviewed.
Available in Ada and Canyon Counties, Beyond Access provides no-cost curb-to-curb transportation for older adults and people with disabilities. This service is constrained by limited local funding, which comes primarily from the Area Agency on Aging.
From January 2021 to January 2023, VRT worked with more than 50 community organizations on an initiative called Connected Canyon County. Recognizing the gaps in service, the effort set out to design and implement mobility solutions that improved access to important destinations and activities in Canyon County.
