Tyler Transit begins plans for facility expansion

Published 5:20 am Thursday, July 21, 2022

Population growth as well as the addition of a sixth bus and more staff members have spurred Tyler Transit to begin plans for a larger facility.

Census data over the past few decades has shown “quite a bit” of population growth in Tyler, said Tyler Area Metropolitan Planning Organization Manger Michael Howell. MPO has been working with Tyler Transit on a route study with the goal of improved transportation operations.

The study also found that Tyler Transit has outgrown its facility at the Train Depot in downtown, and an expansion would help the bus operator continue to effectively serve the public.

Tyler Transit recently added a sixth bus to its regular routes, Howell said. New buses bring the need for a new driver, maintenance staff and more. As operations continue to grow, Tyler Transit’s facility also will need to grow, he said.

Tyler Transit’s goal is to find another location for expansion while still using the depot on East Oakwood Street. One idea is to have administrative staff at the depot and personnel such as maintenance and bus operators at a new location, Howell said.

Ideally, the new location would be near the current depot, he said. Tyler Transit is exploring finding a vacant lot for new construction, an existing building or even a building to renovate.

“I suspect they’ll probably have a few locations that they’ll look at and probably just kind of do some budget estimates to try to determine whatever is going to be the best return on investment that’ll meet their needs whenever it comes up,” Howell said.

Tyler Transit estimates it could be a two- to three-year process to find a location for expansion, he said.

The expansion is being discussed before plan documents are given to Tyler Transit staff to begin working on an analysis because there are multiple ways it could be approached, Howell said.

Funding would come from the Federal Transit Administration, he said.

A public meeting regarding the expansion was held July 14, and Howell said the response was “definitely positive.”

“Everybody who was in attendance seemed to think it was definitely a needed operation that definitely needed to happen,” Howell said. “There were some people who already had ideas about sites that Tyler Transit should be looking at and considering for the potential expansion location.”

Residents can still offer input on expanding Tyler Transit’s facilities by sending comments and questions to mpo@tylertexas.com .

For information, go to www.tylerareampo.org .