07.28.2025
RSG Helps NVTA Navigate Napa’s Changing Travel Landscape
A recent article in The Press Democrat (subscription required) highlighted how RSG’s work with the Napa Valley Transportation Authority (NVTA) is helping the region update its understanding of commuting behaviors following the pandemic. The study used advanced data analytics and survey methods to quantify the region’s shifting travel patterns, confirming that remote work, rising living costs, and new mobility preferences have dramatically reshaped how and when people commute in Napa County.
The 2024 Napa Valley Travel Behavior Study Update, commissioned by NVTA and led by RSG, revealed a 12% decline in inter-county commute trips compared to prior years, reflecting fewer residents, fewer local jobs, and more people working from home. Released in 2025, the findings highlight a simultaneous 10% rise in pass-through drivers, or travelers moving through Napa County without stopping. This shift suggests the county is increasingly functioning as a corridor rather than a destination.
“This study gives NVTA a clear, data-backed understanding of how travel in the region has changed, and it provides a roadmap for how to respond,” said Kevin Johnson, RSG's project manager for this work. “It’s a great example of how cutting-edge tools and approaches grounded in mobility data analytics can produce high-value insights that shape long-term planning.”
The findings delivered by RSG have provided NVTA with rich, location-based data that validated anecdotal observations and uncovered trends that would have been costly or difficult to detect using traditional methods. These insights enable NVTA to make more informed transportation investments, improve service delivery, and enhance residents’ quality of life.