The Vital Communities Transportation Program works with employers, municipalities, school districts, and regional planning commissions to improve transportation options and reduce reliance on driving alone.

Getting Around

The Upper Valley offers great commuting opportunities with transit, carpools, biking, walking, and telecommuting.

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Communities

We work with towns, schools, and community organizations to lower residents’ transportation costs.

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Workplaces

Smart Commute helps Upper Valley employers lower the costs of commuting to work.

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VTEN

The Vermont Transportation Efficiency Network (VTEN) is a group of providers, planners, and advocates who gather to reduce the costs and environmental impacts of our transportation system.

Learn More  >

Advance
Transit
Real-Time

Real-Time Photo Project

Find your bus in real-time and plan your trip at AdvanceTransit.com OR download the iPhone or Android real-time app developed by students from Dartmouth’s Thayer School of Engineering.

We’re working with workplaces and communities in the Advance Transit service area over the next year to promote Advance Transit’s real-time system and trip planner. Using proven Community-Based Social Marketing methods, we hope to increase ridership on Advance Transit by making it easier and more routine to take the bus.

Interested in getting your workplace or organization involved? E-mail Bethany@VitalCommunities.org.

What's Happening

Upper Valley Transportation Management Association (UVTMA)

We convene the Upper Valley Transportation Management Association (UVTMA), a membership-based group of workplaces, transportation providers, municipalities, and planners. Dues-paying members are eligible for customized programs and services for their town or workplace.

Join us to help solve the transportation challenges affecting the Upper Valley. E-mail Bethany to learn more about becoming a UVTMA member.

UVTMA Steering Committee

  • Dartmouth-Hitchcock: Dan Dahmen
  • Norwich Energy Committee: Susan Hardy
  • Hanover: Carolyn Radisch
  • Lebanon: Rebecca Owens
  • Hartford: Matt Osborn
  • Dartmouth College: Patrick O’Neill
  • Lebanon Area Chamber of Commerce: Rob Taylor
  • Lyme: Daniel Brand
  • New England Transportation Institute: Matthew Coogan
  • Plainfield: Betsy Rybeck Lynd
  • Hanover Bicycle/Pedestrian Committee: Scot Drysdale
  • Co-op Food Stores: Allan Reetz
  • City of Lebanon Planning Board: Sarah Welsch
  • Advance Transit: Van Chestnut
  • Resource Systems Group: Ben Swanson
  • New Hampshire House of Representatives: Patricia Higgins
  • Hypertherm: John Rooney
  • Hartland Energy Committee & Upper Valley Sierra Club: Karl Kemnitzer
  • UVLSRPC: Meghan Butts, Chair
  • TRORC: Rita Seto
  • SWCRPC: Jason Rasmussen
  • Southwestern Community Services: Terri Paige
  • Stagecoach: vacant
  • Vital Communities: Bethany Fleishman & Paige Heverly

UVTMA Members

Workplaces
Co-op Food Stores of New Hampshire and Vermont
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth-Hitchcock
Hypertherm
Kendal at Hanover
King Arthur Flour
Greater Lebanon Chamber of Commerce
Mascoma Savings Bank
Resource Systems Group

Municipalities
Town of Enfield
Town of Hanover
Town of Hartford
City of Lebanon
Town of Norwich

Schools
Dresden School District
Lebanon School District

Transit Providers
Advance Transit
Connecticut River Transit
Dartmouth Coach
Southwestern Community Services
Stagecoach Transportation Services

Regional Planning Commissions
South Windsor County Regional Planning Commission
Two Rivers Ottauquechee Regional Commission
Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission

Greatest Hits

Lorem Ipsum

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Calendar

February 2019

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
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  • Upper Valley Farmer Forum
  • Vermont Farm to School and Early Childhood Day
  • FREE Winter Warrior Bike Workshop
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  • Leadership Upper Valley - Justice Day
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  • UVTMA Monthly Meeting

Photo Gallery

Vital Communities News

Flavors of the Valley - Call for Vendors!

Vend at Flavors of the Valley! Registration is open for the 18th annual Flavors of the Valley, the Upper Valley’s premier local food tasting expo. With 50+ vendors and more than 1000 attendees, Flavors is a valuable marketing opportunity for ...more

Flavors of the Valley 2019 - Call for Vendors!

Vend at Flavors of the Valley! Registration is open for the 18th annual Flavors of the Valley, the Upper Valley’s premier local food tasting expo. With 50+ vendors and more than 1000 attendees, Flavors is a valuable marketing opportunity for ...more

Apply for a Farm to School Mini-Grant!

We are excited to announce the 2019 mini-grant program from Vital Communities' Upper Valley Farm to School Network! Funding is available to both Vermont and New Hampshire schools. Start dreaming up your farm-to-school projects—we want ...more

Thinking Local First

Shop or Buy Local First is a common call to action. The threat to local businesses with competition from online commerce is real and growing, so it is important to patronize local businesses if we ...more

The Housing Shortage Affects All of Us

It is no secret that there is a shortage of homes to buy or rent in the Upper Valley. That shortage affects all of us. Read more in this Valley News op-ed from Vital Communities' Corporate ...more

Food Hub Forum for Farmers February 6!

Join Vital Communities and Food Connects Wednesday February 6 from 4-6 pm at Piecemeal Pie in White River Junction for a forum to learn about how you can expand your market access with a food hub. This forum is free ...more

Join Vital Communities at Northern Stage!

Looking for a fun way to spend a January evening? Join Vital Communities for a pre-show reception at Northern Stage on January 31 from 5:30 to 6:30pm in advance of Venus Rising. Local playwright Marisa ...more

Local First Members Give Back!

Locally owned businesses are rooted in the Upper Valley and donate time and money to the community every month of the year as they support nonprofits, schools, and communities. Keep your dollars where your heart and support ...more

Think Local First & SAVE this Season!

Local and independent businesses bring value to our communities in many ways: preserving community character, creating stable jobs, supporting area organizations and nonprofits, and strengthening our local economy by keeping our dollars in the Upper ...more

Seeking Bids from Solar Installers by Nov. 30

Vital Communities is teaming up with Kearsarge Climate Action to launch a Solarize Kearsarge campaign in spring 2019, following on the tails of the upcoming Weatherize Kearsarge campaign launching in January 2019. We are seeking proposals ...more

Thank you, Ben!

This summer we had the privilege of working with Ben Fletcher, pictured second from left. Ben brought an incredibly well suited array of skills to Vital Communities and was a boon to the Valley Quest ...more

Lebanon Area Businesses - Join us on Sept. 27

So many small businesses in the Upper Valley are burdened with high energy costs. And not enough time to do anything about it! We've got some good news for you. A group of Lebanon residents are ...more

Bird and Quest

The Vermont Center for Ecostudies lists 382 species of bird that occur in Vermont, whether year-long resident or migratory visitor. The VCE’s Vermont Atlas of Life citizen science operation has recorded sightings of 332 of ...more

Subbasin Spotlight!

This year's Aquatic Adventure Super Quest showcases the 5 subbasins that make up the Upper Connecticut River Valley, or, more fondly, the Upper Valley. A subbasin is a term used to describe a watershed within a ...more

A Lot Lighter with More Hands: Leadership Upper Valley

On the bright, sunny morning of June 13, Cobb Hill was waking up, and the soon-to-be graduating 2018 Leadership Upper Valley class was just arriving for their final meeting. Before the ceremony at Harpoon Brewery, ...more

Longevity & Commitment: Keynote Remarks from Heroes & Leaders 2018

Editor's Note: Many thanks to Kevin Peterson, Director of Economic Development for the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority, who offered the keynote speech at our May 3 Heroes & Leaders celebration. Read his complete remarks ...more

Long-Standing Stewards: Heroes & Leaders 2018

Every spring, Leadership Upper Valley, a program of Vital Communities, hosts a Heroes & Leaders celebration to recognize individuals who make significant contributions to the greater Upper Valley region. This year, Heroes & Leaders is ...more

Get Stoked on Automated Wood Heat!

Boiler on its last legs? Looking to opt out of fossil fuels? Come learn about today's self-stoking automated wood heat! Opt out of oil with delivery of local wood pellets and whole home wood heating ...more

Read our blog

 

Bethany Fleishman

Transportation Program Manager

Transportation

 802.291.9100 x 111

Transportation

— Bethany Fleishman, Transportation Program Manager

Bethany Fleishman was born at the old Mary Hitchcock hospital in Hanover, N.H., grew up in West Hartford, Vt., and now lives in Hartford Village, where she can see the White River and the trains from her window. She has a biology degree from St. Lawrence University and has worked in public health outreach, as a line cook in San Francisco, a pastry chef in Hanover, and as a member of the Town of Hartford Selectboard. She serves on the board of directors for both Advance Transit and Upper Valley CarShare and is a lifelong bike commuter.



Paige Heverly

Energy and Transportation Project Coordinator

Transportation, Energy

 802.291.9100 x 114

Transportation, Energy

— Paige Heverly, Energy and Transportation Project Coordinator

Paige Heverly joined Vital Communities in 2017 as the Energy and Transportation Project Coordinator. Hailing from the suburbs of Philadelphia, she moved to Vermont in 2011 and earned a joint BA in Renewable Energy and Ecological Design and Environmental Studies from Green Mountain College. After completing her Master of Energy Regulation and Law from Vermont Law School, Paige worked in energy efficiency consulting in Portland, Oregon. Her love of local food systems, the White River, and the Green Mountains brought her back to the Upper Valley to work on regional issues with localized solutions. Paige is passionate about closing ecological loops and treating waste as food. In her free time, she enjoys baking homemade English muffins, weeding her garden, and writing letters to her pen pals.