Nampa City Council maintains partial VRT funding, keeping Route 42 and VRT Access paratransit

At its August 17 council meeting and budget hearing, the Nampa City Council voted on a final budget that includes partial, but reduced, funding for VRT. The budget will maintain Route 42 and VRT Access paratransit in Nampa. Route 40 and VRT On-Demand will be eliminated from the city of Nampa.

“This decision preserves access for most of the fixed route riders in Nampa and will allow many Nampa residents to continue reaching work, school, grocery, and critical medical appointments. However, the outcome for current VRT On-Demand riders is very disappointing. We will work with those riders to help identify options, but expect that many of them will be unable to meet basic travel needs. Our team is finalizing the specific service details and schedules considering the recent vote.

I wish we could introduce a more robust and efficient system, but that requires more funding. Instead, VRT will continue to provide as much service as possible with the resources we have while still keeping enough of the community covered so we don’t leave vulnerable residents behind. Our approach to improving service has also been successful, and the consistent growth in ridership in Nampa over the last three years proves it.

We heard testimony last night about long waits at the senior center; those comments were focused on a service that is not supported by the City of Nampa and after looking at the evidence the service performance was not accurately depicted. It does reflect the limited budget we work within on all of our services.

While the Council’s vote will not result in the amount of service residents need and want, we will continue to serve as much of the community as we can with the funding provided. Thank you to the Nampa City Council for recognizing the value of public transportation, and to every rider who spoke up and supported the system.”

– Elaine Clegg, CEO

service impacts

• Route 42, which connects VRT’s Happy Day Transit Center to Towne Square Mall, will continue to operate in Nampa as it does today.
• VRT Access paratransit will continue to operate in Nampa as it does today.
• Route 40 and VRT On-Demand will be eliminated in Nampa.

What’s next

VRT will implement service changes on Thursday, October 1.

Riders are encouraged to check our website and social media channels for frequent updates.

Jason Rose, Public Information Officer
jrose@ridevrt.org
(208) 803‑5183

For media resources, logos, and photos, please visit ridevrt.org/press.