Boise Buses Struggle To Survive

The Boise bus system has been having trouble serving the city for years. City officials want to expand service, but are hitting the roadblock of low ridership. Bus system officials and pro-transit politicians are facing a Catch-22: they can't get new routes without more riders, but they can't get more riders without new routes.

As federal grants expire at the end of the year, the bus system's administrators are searching for a way to stay afloat. They offered free rides for the month of May, a ploy that increased ridership, but it is too early to see any lasting effects. Transit officials are hopeful, but city officials remain skeptical.

"'Personally, I'm looking at ridership,' said Boise City Councilor Jim Tibbs, who sits on the Valley Regional Transit Board. 'Before anybody starts talking about a light rail system, you'd better start getting some butts in seats on the bus first.'"

"More riders would also add dollars to the bus budget. But VRT managers admit that limited resources have created a basic problem: Commuters don't see the bus as a viable transit option because they don't find many buses that take them where they need to go when they need to go."