Curtis Hampton is aware of the many changes taking place within his place of employment.

A maintenance worker with Port Arthur Transit for eight years, Hampton offered a simple description of the capital improvements that are or will soon take place.

“I think it’s brilliant, with all the changes with the new buses and everything coming in,” he said.

Changes include the construction of a $2.8 million maintenance building by November of this year, six electric buses that will replace the diesel-powered fleet by July of this year and four more coming in by July 2021, and the renovation of the transit’s terminal, which is due for completion this April.

The buses are being purchased from California-based manufacturer Proterra.

“I still think that, just because we’re small, that should not limit us in terms of the quality of service we offer to our residents or passengers,” said Ivan Mitchell, PAT director since March 2018. “We can obtain the funds to invest in capital projects. There are ways to obtain funds to either improve the service, like we’re offering Saturday service on Feb. 1.”

PAT’s Saturday service will offer all of the same routes except for Route 7, Mitchell said, and include paratransit service.

“We’ve had people calling and asking when they can start scheduling their trips paratransit-wise, and then we put advertisements on all of our buses telling people about it,” Mitchell said. “We definitely think people are going to use it. That’s our goal, for people to use it as another way to get to work or go shopping, whatever they have to do that day.”

While Port Arthur Transit is a department within the city’s operations and well supported by the city, much of the funding for the capital projects comes from Federal Transit Authority grants for which Mitchell wrote.

The maintenance building will include three service bays, new vehicle lifts, equipment to service electric batteries and improved lighting, ventilation and ceiling heights. The terminal building, which opened in 1986, is being renovated at a price tag of $528,250. The scope of renovations include a new roof and canopy, landscaping, interior and exterior lighting, accessibility improvements and a gutting of the interior, including restrooms, floors, seating and painting.

Mitchell helped PAT obtain federal resiliency funds that will help with the downtown drainage system to protect the service from damages to future floods and storms. The $904,750 project will allow the city to repair and replace stormwater lines on adjacent streets.

“The state of Texas, I believe, received about $7 million in resiliency funds that transit agencies could apply for,” Mitchell said. “By resiliency, they’ve recognized we’re going to get natural disasters, so they want us to hedge ourselves so we can do something to protect ourselves when another one comes. Another one is going to come; everyone recognizes that.”

PAT’s capital initiatives do not stop there. Mitchell is planning to begin a Smart Card fare system and demolition of the present maintenance building by December, as well as a the purchase of two more electric buses.

“There are ways to serve the customers better,” Mitchell said. “You just have to take it up and go after it. If I see something, I run with it because I want to get that accomplished.”