Planning & Design
Napa Valley Transportation Authority | Napa Valley, CA
How Transit Planning & Data Reshaped Transportation in Napa Valley
Known for world-class wine, Napa County is home to roughly 76,000 residents with over 3.8 million visitors a year. A mixture of rural and urban areas with a dynamic geographical landscape and diverse community needs, the Napa Valley Transportation Authority which provides bus, community shuttle, and paratransit services, faces unique challenges.
When we went to on-demand services, we no longer had to guess where people needed to go for their
essential trips. The riders told us with every requested ride when and where they needed to go.
Rebecca Schenck, Principal Planner, Napa Valley Transportation Authority
The Solution:
In Spring 2020, at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic ridership declined 67% on eight NVTA fixed-route operations. Principal Planner at Napa Valley Transportation Authority Rebecca Schenck, recognized their current service model was no longer effectively serving Napa County’s needs.
In search of a solution to better support the NVTA community during an unprecedented time, Schenck partnered with TransLoc’s Planning & Design team to analyze and determine how to implement new safety and health protocols while continuing to meet the transportation needs of Napa County residents.
In just over a month, NVTA was able to temporarily pause their fixed-route operations and transition to TransLoc’s on-demand services. With constant fluctuations in ridership, NVTA used TransLoc’s reporting suite to monitor and adapt services, ensuring a positive rider experience.
NVTA’s data showed that transitioning to on-demand services allowed for shorter, more direct trips, while also creating the space required to adhere to proper socialdistancing guidelines. Trips that previously required riders to take two buses, could now be accomplished in one.
TransLoc’s OnDemand software also enabled NVTA to easily monitor and regulate how many riders were utilizing the service at any given time. By December 2020, hourly ridership was increasing each month, while also maintaining consistent wait and ride times.
The switch to on-demand services allowed NVTA to adapt to falling ridership and evolving movement patterns providing mobility throughout the region using limited resources.