The Williamsburg Area Transit Authority buses ferrying passengers across the Historic Triangle will soon have a new look.
WATA’s board of directors approved several changes Wednesday to how the transit authority brands itself, agreeing on a future look for its buses and to do away with the “Williamsburg Area Transport” wording currently on many of their vehicles in favor of the more uniform usage of the WATA logo.
Amy Hibbard, the senior communications specialist for WATA, told the board riders were confusing the cursive script of the Williamsburg Area Transport branding currently on the sides of many of the buses with branding from Colonial Williamsburg. She also noted how the different branding — some vehicles and signs say WATA while others say Williamsburg Area Transport — makes it difficult to market the service.
“I believe the main logo should be how people recognize us,” Hibbard said. “Our primary ridership are local citizens who don’t identify easily with transport.”
Hibbard said the word transport is more closely associated with the moving of goods and services, where as transit reflects the shuttling of people, a point to which several of the board members agreed.
The WATA logo will be featured along the top of the new bus design, which will be used first on new buses slated to enter the fleet early next year. WATA Executive Director Kevan Danker said he will explore the possibility of securing grant funding to either repaint or apply a vinyl covering featuring the new design on the existing fleet of 12 35-foot low-floor buses and eight 30-foot buses.
The winning bus design features a burgundy and gray swoosh along the bottom of the bus, while the upper portion is painted white. The WATA logo and website are displayed along the top of the bus.
The board selected the winning design because it is able to project the swoosh imagery while still providing a space for ads to be placed on the sides of the bus. Hibbard said WATA staff like the winning design because it is “modern” but “still conservative” and “not loud and bright.”
“Think of us moving forward,” she said of the swoosh, which starts small at the back of the bus and gradually grows larger toward the front.
The Williamsburg Area Transport branding currently used on many of the vehicles was developed when the transit service transitioned in 2002 from James City County Transit to a larger service that extends into Williamsburg and York County. The WATA branding did not exist at that time.
In addition to the bus fleet, WATA also operates the Williamsburg Trolley. Bus service runs through much of James City County and Williamsburg long with parts of Upper York County. Service is also offered to Lee Hall, where riders can transition to Hampton Roads Transit.
