With the Ingleside City Council’s approval Tuesday night, the Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority’s Port Aransas Express is now fully operational. It’s a cheap way to get to Port Aransas from three other cities, and it has boosting Port A’s economy at its core.
“We found a great need to be able to move the workers that don’t live in Port Aransas from the surrounding areas into Port Aransas,” CCRTA CEO Jorge Cruz-Aedo said.
The Port Aransas Express has been operating since Friday, but it only got approval to pick-up and drop-off passengers in Ingleside at the city council meeting last night. In addition to that stop, the Express begins in Corpus Christi and hits Aransas Pass before boarding the Port Aransas Ferry and then making 17 stops in the city of the same name after disembarking.
“One of our missions is to not only provide transportation to the community that we serve but also to help the economic developments in those communities,” Cruz-Aedo said. “Getting workers to their jobs is a pretty important mission.”
With 17 stops in Port Aransas, workers who live in other communities will be able to get off the bus close to their jobs. One owner of three businesses says that’s a big improvement.
“I’m really just thankful that the RTA stepped-up and helped us with the transportation, because there’s not affordable housing in Port Aransas yet.” that business owner, Chris Collins, said.
The lack of affordable housing is a remnant of Hurricane Harvey that hit Port Aransas hard some 21-months ago. As the city continues to make a come-back, the RTA says businesses will benefit from the Port A Express reliably bringing in workers.
“This gives us the ability to move workers from the surrounding area into Port Aransas which helps the community and helps with their tourism and helps with their businesses in that community,” Cruz-Aedo said.
A one-way trip on the Port Aransas Express costs 75-cents. Click here for more information including the schedule.
