The city of Port Arthur is doing its part to reduce emissions from public transportation and also upgrading its terminal fleet.

The city has approved the purchase of the vehicles for Port Arthur Transit totaling $4,823,545 from Proterra, a California-based manufacturer. To accommodate the new buses, city manager Ron Burton said, the city authorized Port Arthur-based G&G Enterprises Construction to upgrade PAT’s terminal building a cost not to exceed $528,250.

The facility upgrade and purchases are funded through grants and will not cost the city anything, which Burton said is most important.

“Those buses are electric, and it requires a different technology and it requires a different type of facility to be in place,” Burton said. “What we need to do, we need to have those upgrades in place in order to get those buses sometime next year.

“When that all happens, it means we will be able to continue to service delivery to our citizens.”

Mayor Thurman Bartie said the city plans to replace all of its existing buses with the electric vehicles.

The purchases help the city reduce emissions and are seen as a cost-effective measure against gas consumption and maintenance, Bartie said.

Burton credited PAT manager Ivan Mitchell with being able to source grant funding, adding he’s gone about funding “aggressively.”

“That’s one of the things I really appreciate about the type of leadership he continues to portray, and it’s done at zero cost to the city,” Burton said.

Attempts to reach Mitchell for comment were not successful.