Citibus was recently granted $2.5 million from the Federal Transit Administration. Lubbock was one of four cities in the state of Texas that received the grant.
With this recent award, several new buses will be purchased to service the City of Lubbock. Along with new buses and to lead the charge on these efforts, Citibus has also named their new general manager, Chris Mandrell.
“Our bus fleet right now, our average age is about 17 to 18 years old, and so when you have vehicles that are 17, 18 years old, you create some unreliability in your fleet and your service, and these buses will go directly to replace some of those vehicles,” Mandrell said. “And, really what that means is that it’s gonna create such a much more reliable service.”
With greater reliability in the new buses, Citibus now has plans to salvage the parts they need from the old buses and auction off the remaining pieces. Mandrell plans to focus more on the future innovative ways of servicing the community.
“I think Citibus right now is an untapped resource. You know, I think for so long, we’ve been providing what you would call public transportation. And that’s quickly changed over the last few years with all the different mobility options that are out there,” Mandrell said. “We need to change with that, we need to get into the business of mobility and not necessarily public transportation.”
With over a decade of experience at Citibus, Mandrell said he is devoted to serving the people of the city, as well as those who work so hard at Citibus every day.
“We have some really good people that work here and that’s what I’m most excited about, being able to lead these people because there’s some really good workers and really special people to me that I started here working here 10 years ago and they’ve been a lot longer than that, so for them to open their arms up and welcome me into this leadership role, it’s really special to me,” Mandrell said. “And, you know, I’ll promise them that they won’t have anyone who’s gonna work harder than me for them.”
While Citibus is a primary source for public transportation within the city, Mandrell said his goal is not only to purchase a new fleet of buses, but also to move their operations in the direction of mobility services for everyone in the community.
