CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — With over 100 buses, three million riders and over 300 employees, the Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority (CCRTA) has quite the load on its hands. Their current maintenance facility is over 40 years old and leaders say it's time for a change.
The RTA's 45-year-old maintenance facility sits on Bear Lane. CEO Derrick Majchszak told 3NEWS it's time for a new one -- one that's bigger, better and more resilient.
"We're hoping that sometime in the future we can work with our federal, local partners to get the funding to put a new shop over there that would be rated for a category four windstorm," he said.
That's where U.S. Rep. Michael Cloud steps in. He helped secure nearly $6 million in federal funding for eight new compressed natural gas buses for the RTA.
He said now it's time to help secure a grant that would create a safer, more energy efficient facility that the city can rely on when they need it most. On Monday he took a tour of the facility with RTA to learn more about the needs of the complex and its employees.
"The idea that everybody's working with here is that it would be great to see a facility that was really built for this purpose that could help serve with some of the new technology," Cloud said. "But also, in the case of some of the natural disasters that come our way to serve as a place where we could store not only the buses but potentially first responder vehicles."
The new facility would be 65,000 square feet, have solar panels, an enhanced security system, insulated doors and air conditioning. That's something that Majchszak says is most important for RTA mechanics.
"We all know in South Texas it's incredibly hot during the summertime, and it's hard for people to be working in these conditions during the summer," he said.
Cloud said the trip to the facility helped him see the need for upgrades.
"We're going to do everything we can to work with the city and work with the RTA to make sure that they're able to continue the good work they've been doing to serve the people of our community," Cloud said. "It's been great to come here firsthand and see what's going on behind the scenes to make sure the best use is being made to stretch the livelihood of the buses as best as we can and to meet the people making the good stuff happen."