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ValleyRide suffers from low funding
Courtesy, John Romlein II - Columnist
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“Dispatch, I’m not going anywhere… I’m getting all kinds of (warning) lights, we need a replacement.”
COURTESY/JOHN ROMLEIN II Unit 9708 taken out of service by the driver at the Towne Square Mall
The driver of Route 8 (Chinden/Five-Mile) radioed that transmission to ValleyRide dispatch as he took Unit 9708 out of service at the Towne Square Mall – the route’s western transfer station hub. The unit’s failure resulted in a 23-minute wait for a replacement bus, during which a few impatient passengers opted instead to hail taxicabs.
Scenes like this have become commonplace to those who regularly utilize ValleyRide bus services. According to a FY07 Q2 report, 12 heavy-duty buses and seven paratransit Access vans have either reached or surpassed their useful service lives. The 9708 unit is among an active fleet of ten 35-seat Nova models originally commissioned in 1997, which are overdue for retirement. Yet the agency lacks the necessary funding to stay current with operating and maintenance expenses.
“Most of our funding now comes from the city,” said the driver of Route 2 (Broadway), which has a stop along the eastern end of campus. “But the state wants more cars on the road to pay for their road projects.”
According to Valley Regional Transit (VRT), the parent operator of ValleyRide, organizers completed a six-year plan entitled, “Treasure Valley in Transit” in 2004 which “provides for a regional public transportation system (that) provides new routes in communities throughout the Valley, longer hours of service and more frequent service.”
However, the plan was passed without a solid funding source to pay for the implementation of the proposed services.
For the past three years, VRT officials have petitioned state legislators to approve a local option sales tax as a funding source, only to be stonewalled in committee. This past spring, an attempt to pass authority of a local option sales tax to cities and counties also failed – despite transportation being a hot-button issue prolonging the second-longest legislative session in state history.
Consequently, ValleyRide runs most bus routes from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and only half of its routes from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays. There is no Sunday or holiday service. This has proven to be too inefficient for most Boise residents, who prefer to stick to his or her automobiles.
COURTESY/JOHN ROMLEIN II A protest sign posted on a downtown bus shelter
“I don’t consider public transportation in Boise a realistic choice for me,” said Boise State graduate Nathan Thomas. “I leave for work before the first bus arrives in my area. I’d love to see transportation expand, but right now it doesn’t provide enough options and flexibility.”
ValleyRide has slashed seven Boise routes over the past 11 years, with a union spat resulting in the loss of a one-mile stretch of Route 42 (Nampa Limited Stop) and City of Eagle budget cuts that nearly terminated Route 44 (Eagle-Middleton-Star Express).
Human resources major Chris Scott is a frequent rider of the bus.
“I think the bus system is good for Boise, but as (the population) grows, they definitely need to improve it,” he said.
Yet with rising fuel costs and an economic downturn, ridership has increased. In response, VRT was awarded $8.5 million in economic stimulus money, which will be used to purchase 25 replacement diesel/CNG buses, improve bus stop accessibility and improve real-time bus information.
Whether or not this will help ValleyRide in the long run remains unknown.
John Romlein II is a Boise State Alumni and columnist for The Arbiter.