Provide funding for automatic passenger counter (APC) upgrades for valley regional transit (VRT) within the boise urbanized area (UZA) using FY2026 surface transportation block grant (STBG) funds…

The Federal Transit Administration awarded Valley Regional Transit $347,075 on July 24, 2026, through the Federal Transit Formula Grants program (CFDA 20.507) to procure and deploy stereoscopic automatic passenger counter (APC) systems across VRT's fixed-route bus fleet in the Boise urbanized area.

VRT will procure APC hardware, communications equipment, and supporting components; install stereoscopic passenger counters, Ethernet switches, cabling, and related infrastructure on fixed-route vehicles; configure and integrate APC hardware and software into existing transit systems; conduct vehicle testing, commissioning, and system validation; establish ridership analytics and reporting capabilities aligned with National Transit Database (NTD) requirements; and obtain NTD APC certification prior to placing the upgraded system into operational service. Project management, training, documentation, and implementation support are included.

The work delivers improved accuracy and reliability of passenger ridership data collection, enhanced analytics capabilities to support service planning and operational decision-making, reduced manual data collection and reporting burden, improved NTD reporting compliance through certified APC technology, and increased availability of ridership information for transit planning and resource allocation decisions. Transit riders and regional stakeholders within the Boise urbanized area will benefit from improved transit planning and service monitoring supported by more accurate ridership data.

Performance of work occurs in Idaho. The period of performance runs through April 30, 2027.

Purpose

The purpose of this grant is to provide funding for automatic passenger counter (APC) upgrades for valley regional transit (VRT) within the boise urbanized area (UZA) using FY2026 surface transportation block grant (STBG) funds transferred to section 5307.

Activities

Procure stereoscopic automatic passenger counter (APC) hardware associated communications equipment and supporting components for VRT fixed-route vehicles;- install APC equipment including stereoscopic passenger counters ethernet switches cabling and related hardware;- configure and integrate APC hardware and software within existing transit systems;- conduct vehicle testing commissioning and system validation to ensure proper functionality and data accuracy;- complete project management training documentation and implementation support activities;- perform ridership analytics setup and reporting configuration to support national transit database (NTD) reporting requirements; and- obtain NTD APC certification and place the upgraded APC system into operational service.

Expected outcomes

Improved accuracy and reliability of passenger ridership data collection across vrts fixed-route system;- enhanced data analytics capabilities to support service planning performance monitoring and operational decision-making;- reduced manual data collection and reporting efforts through APC technology;- improved compliance with NTD reporting requirements through the use of certified APC technology; and- increased availability of high-quality ridership information to support transit planning resource allocation and future funding decisions.

Intended beneficiaries

Transit riders within the boise urbanized area (UZA) who will benefit from improved transit planning service monitoring and resource allocation supported by more accurate and reliable ridership data. VRT staff and regional stakeholders will also benefit from enhanced passenger analytics improved NTD reporting capabilities and better information for service planning and decision-making.