NAMPA, Ida. — This week, Valley Regional Transit is getting ready to expand its after-hours job access and training transportation service to Nampa.
VRT Late Night first launched in January 2019 in Boise in a partnership with Lyft. It provides $3 rides to and from work and training for qualifying riders. VRT Mobility Collaborative Program Kaite Justice says the lack of access to transportation creates barriers for those trying to access employment opportunities.
"Many of the available jobs are second- and third-shift jobs, and those later hours are not serviced by the traditional bus system. To address this issue, Valley Regional Transit launched VRT Late Night. The program has been incredibly beneficial to our Boise riders, so we've decided to expand the program to Nampa to provide more people with more opportunities to reach economic self-sufficiency in our community," Justice explained.
Molly Valceschini, Senior Career Pathways Specialist for the local office of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), says the Late Night program has been important in her agency's ability to support clients in getting to job training opportunities. She cites the example of two students enrolled in the Environmental Services Pre-Apprentice class at St. Alphonsus in Boise.
“Two students used VRT's Late Night program in our last cohort, and wouldn't have been able to enroll in the class without Late Night,” Valceschini said. “Both students were hired on at St. Alphonsus this month and will begin careers in healthcare, earning a higher wage in a field with many opportunities for advancement.”
The Late Night program operates from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., Monday through Saturday. It's currently available in Boise and will expand to Nampa starting Thursday, August 1st. For more information on Late Night and how to qualify, call the VRT Help Desk at (208)345-7433 or click here.
