NAMPA, Idaho — Nampa City Council is days away from a final budget vote that will determine whether several Valley Regional Transit services continue operating in the city.
Ferne Brandt knows what losing reliable public transportation can mean.
Brandt has not been able to drive since 1997 because multiple brain tumors damaged her vision. She is totally blind in her right eye and has a visual field of about 3% to 5% in her left eye.
For more than 15 years, Brandt used VRT’s Access service for scheduled rides to work, the gym and other places around her community.
Brandt and her husband spent more than a year searching for a Nampa home that fell within the service area. Later changes to VRT routes made her ineligible for Access.
She then began using Beyond Access, which remains available to her. However, Brandt said she could only schedule rides two weeks in advance and received between 25% and 32% of the rides she needed.
“Imagine if your vehicle only ran 25% of the times you needed it to,” Brandt said. “It’s not feasible.”
By June, Brandt said the unreliable transportation was a factor in her decision to resign from her job as a social worker serving people with disabilities.
WATCH Nampa woman explains what public transportation provides as city council approaches its final budget vote
Nampa City Council voted 4-2 in July to provide no funding for Valley Regional Transit in the city’s proposed budget for next year. Councilman Sebastian Griffin has argued that the city is spending too much for the number of people using the system.
Brandt said the value of public transportation extends beyond ridership figures.
“It represents a connection to my community,” Brandt said. “It’s how we get to our medical appointments. It’s how people get to the senior center. It’s how we get to community events and our place of employment.”
Council members will consider the final budget Monday, Aug. 17, and can still restore VRT funding.
If funding is not restored, Routes 40 and 42 and VRT On-Demand service in Nampa will end Oct. 12.
Brandt is encouraging riders and their supporters to speak before council members cast their final votes.
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