NAMPA, Idaho — Nampa residents who rely on public transportation have faced significant challenges since the city eliminated on-demand services this summer, leaving only one bus route in operation. Now, a major private investment is set to create new connections across the valley.
Micron has committed $11.6 million to fund a new public express route through Valley Regional Transit over the next five years.
Since July, riders like Mellene Rawson have had to restructure their daily lives around the single remaining Route 42.
"I have to constantly come here to catch the 42," Rawson said. "So I have to adjust my schedule at home. And book much earlier rides and things like that and it just, it just makes it very hard."
WATCH: Micron invests $11.6M to fund new public transit route from Canyon County to Boise
Andrew Mills, another rider who relied on the now-eliminated on-demand services, said the changes have made it difficult to get around.
"I haven't been able to really get to and from Nampa, which thank goodness for switching to working in the Caldwell location for my work," Mills said.
Valley Regional Transit CEO Elaine Clegg said that keeping one route running does not solve the problem if riders cannot get to it, connect from it, or make the schedule work.
The new Micron-funded route would run from Canyon County to the Micron campus in east Boise, using strategic park-and-ride locations along the way and including a stop at the Boise Airport. VRT says service would tentatively run from 4 a.m. to past midnight, seven days a week — the first time service would operate seven days a week.
Clegg said Micron wanted the investment to benefit more than just its own workforce.
"They wanted to make sure that we were able to design something that helped not just their employees but the whole valley, recognizing their impact on the valley," Clegg said.
However, Clegg noted that the new route will not restore the Nampa services eliminated this summer. VRT is designing the new service around the Micron investment, while Nampa would still need to fund any broader return of its own transit system.
