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Buses and vans in the Napa Valley are beginning to sport pristine white paint jobs and new logos after a three-year effort to consolidate public transit in the county reached a successful climax this summer.

As a result of a memorandum of understanding signed by the cities of Calistoga, St. Helena, Napa and American Canyon, the town of Yountville and Napa County, fixed-route and paratransit contract management has been turned over to the Napa County Transportation Planning Agency (NCTPA), effectively making the agency the transit authority for Napa Valley, and reducing the number of transit operators in the county from six to one.

Two separate, fixed-route bus networks have been merged into a new service called the "VINE," a new logo and marketing image have been developed, a new paratransit operator has been selected to link door-to-door services for seniors and disabled riders to fixed-route services wherever possible, and public transit services provided by vans in American Canyon, Yountville, St. Helena and Calistoga are being improved.

Ann Flemer, MTC's deputy director for operations, commended the Napa agency and cited the cooperative approach adopted by the county as "a good example of the way MTC can encourage good planning practices among the region's cities and counties." MTC provided the initial funds for NCTPA's efforts.

The economies of scale that occur through consolidation will free up funds for system expansion.

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