The City of Laredo and El Metro Transit System are requesting funding for the architectural design, land acquisition, building, and amenities for a new Bus Maintenance, Operations and Administration building.

The new facility will house buses, fueling, operations, and maintenance for the next twenty-five (25) years when the Transit fleet has approximately 100 buses and 40 vans including support vehicles. The current severely overcrowded and outdated shop will be replaced with a new facility equipped to handle today’s buses and those of the future. In addition, the new facility should be located in an area more properly zoned for its bus activities and away from current residential properties. Currently, an existing neighborhood, a creek, and railroad tracks surround the bus facility. Residents have voiced their concerns to City Council on noise, vibration, and natural gas smells. They are concerned that the fumes may pose potential risks to their health. Also, during peak hours, the residents have noted that bus traffic disrupts a nearby Boy’s and Girls Club. Finally, since the facility is located next to railroad tracks, buses leaving the facility need to change their exit route depending on whether the train is traveling or stopped on the tracks. The current facility lacks land availability for future expansion, additional maintenance bays and employee parking. The CNG fuel plant needs to be replaced.

The City of Laredo and El Metro Transit System have been awarded earmarks of $5.1 million for this project. The City has already contracted an engineering firm for the site selection phase for the new bus facility. Since, the estimated total cost of the project is $20 million, additional funds are needed to be earmarked in order to begin the design and construction phase. In order to ensure that customer service is not affected by providing a smooth transition with bus operations and maintenance, we would like to proceed with this project on a fast-track basis. This will help alleviate the current neighborhood residents’ concerns.

• Federal Transit Administration