Here is a Port Arthur Transit electric bus.

Beaumont Enterprise
Matt Hollinshead, Assistant Editor
June 28, 2023

Port Arthur residents will soon have improved public transit service to Mid-County after more than $5 million in federal money was awarded to the city.

The money also will help the city's continued transition to electric buses for public transportation.

The city at a Tuesday news conference announced the United States Department of Transportation grant, which will go toward additional buses, extra charging equipment and an additional Mid-County route. 

The city currently has 10 electric buses, and it is now looking to add another four buses to run across the seven bus routes. 

“It’s more sustainable. It’s better for the air in the city, less maintenance… There’s a lot of benefits to these vehicles,” Port Arthur Transit director Ivan Mitchell said, adding diesel and gasoline fuel costs in the city will drop as a result.

Mitchell said the city’s electric buses can run up to 180 miles on one full charge. Adding more to the fleet will decrease the amount of time riders are waiting for transit, particularly to the Mid-County area.

“The Mid-County area that we serve, that’s our heaviest ridership,” Mitchell said. “That’s because you’ve got a lot of businesses up there. You have a lot of social services…”

Port Arthur Mayor Thurman Bartie said he’s seen people walking with Walmart bags full of food or clothing items back toward Central Mall, as it’s an area where residents may not have their own vehicle.

“I just see the volume of traffic, and I think about the dangers that person’s actually facing,” he said. “(Cars are) coming off the highway, making a turn… and (pedestrians are) trying to walk or cross an actual highway…”

Bartie believes expanding the electric bus service can help address such instances and improve quality of life.