Imperial County Transportation Commission Proposes New Transit Operations Facility

-Editorial 

The Imperial County Transportation Commission (ICTC), in coordination with the Federal Transit Administration and the City of El Centro, is moving forward with the environmental review and conceptual design of a proposed Imperial Valley Transit Administration Operations and Maintenance Facility that would centralize the agency’s operations at a single location in El Centro.

The public was invited to a project preview at the El Centro Public Library, located at 1198 N Imperial Ave, where community members could view the conceptual designs firsthand and learn more about the project.

The proposed facility would be built on a vacant 19.3-acre site at 2204-2208 La Brucherie Road. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2029.

According to ICTC documents, the project is intended to improve transit reliability, enhance regional mobility, support future ridership growth, and prepare Imperial Valley Transit for a transition to zero-emission bus operations.

Plans call for the construction of a new administration and operations building, a vehicle maintenance facility, fleet parking and staging areas, employee and visitor parking, a fueling station, a bus wash facility, on-site solar energy generation, zero-emission vehicle infrastructure, and roadway and pedestrian improvements. The project is expected to be funded through a combination of local, state, and federal grant sources.

ICTC Commissioner and Imperial City Councilmember Robert Amparano said the new facility would bring together operations that are currently spread across several locations in Imperial County.

“We’re going to centralize all of our facilities,” Amparano said. “The benefit is there’s cost savings because we won’t have rents all over the place, and we’ll have everybody centralized in one spot.”

Amparano said the complex would house administrative offices, maintenance operations, fueling facilities, conference rooms and a boardroom, creating a central headquarters for ICTC and Imperial Valley Transit.

“Everything’s in one spot,” he said, adding that the location also provides convenient access to nearby services and businesses for transit riders.

ICTC Executive Director David Aguirre said it is too early to determine the project’s final cost because the design is still being refined.

“We have a long way to go,” Aguirre said. “This is essentially the beginning phases of the project.”

He said construction costs will depend on the final design and the type of zero-emission technology incorporated into the facility, including electric bus charging infrastructure or the possible addition of hydrogen fueling capabilities.

“It’s a work in progress,” Aguirre said. “As we continue to develop the design, we’ll have a better idea of what this is realistically going to cost.”

While the design process is expected to continue for at least another year, Aguirre said ICTC is simultaneously pursuing state and federal grant funding so the agency will be positioned to begin construction once planning is complete.

Aguirre also discussed recent transit initiatives, including Greyhound’s move to the Calexico Intermodal Transportation Center, where ICTC now provides customer service for both Greyhound and Imperial Valley Transit passengers.

Regarding transit service in Calexico, Aguirre said ICTC has shifted its focus from developing a fixed-route circulator system to expanding on-demand transportation. Years ago, ICTC explored creating a local circulator bus service in Calexico similar to the Blue Line in El Centro, with routes designed to serve areas within the city that were not covered by existing IV Transit routes. However, that proposal did not move forward.

Instead, the agency has continued operating Calexico On-Demand, which has served the community for about four years, while expanding IVT Ride Now, an app-based, curb-to-curb transit service that operates similarly to a ride-hailing service.

According to Aguirre, the Calexico On-Demand program averages about five passengers per vehicle per hour, which he said is an efficient level of service for demand-response public transportation.

Calexico Transit System, owned and operated by the Castro family, provided local bus service in Calexico for more than 40 years. The route connected residents from First Street to destinations including Walmart, Las Palmas and Santo Tomas Swap Meet, traveling through the west side of the city before returning to First Street. The company’s bus station was located on First Street, across from Sam Ellis, at the site where the temporary pedestrian port of entry is now located.

Another privately operated bus service provided direct transportation between Calexico and the Imperial Valley Mall. The company also briefly operated a route connecting First Street to the Grand Plaza Outlets when the shopping center opened, offering residents an alternative to walking or using taxi services. Both private transit services have since ceased operations.