More than 14 million rides have been provided by the River Valley Mass Transit District.

The backbone for those millions of rides is, of course, the fleet of buses used to take riders to work, doctor appointments, dental visits, grocery store shopping, movies or a trip to Midway International Airport, among many destinations.

But since this Kankakee County service began in 1999, another can’t-live-without aspect has been those who have maintained and kept this fleet motoring down area streets.

The maintenance crew has a brand-new asset at their disposal—the $9 million, six-bay maintenance garage, courtesy of a Rebuild Illinois grant.

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River Valley Metro ribbon cutting River Valley Metro's new bus maintenance facility is revealed during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. (Tiffany Blanchette/Tiffany Blanchette)

The funds allowed for the 5-bay, hydraulic-lift garage to keep buses operating in an on-time, dependable fashion.

The 26-bus fleet now has a home fitting for the critical service it provides.

The new facility, a 12-month build by Kankakee-based PSI, Inc., is one-third larger than the garage that has been used since Metro and its seven-member board began calling the St. George Road location home many years ago.

The new garage offers 12,000 square feet of floor space, compared to 8,000 in the soon-to-be-former site immediately east of the new garage.

The existing maintenance garage will be phased out, but still will be used. The site is being transformed into a bus parts area as well as a location for the daily washing of buses.

‘No-brainer’

Illinois State Sen. Patrick Joyce, D-Essex, explained that when he learned there was state transportation money available for a maintenance facility, everyone sprang into action.

“It was an easy support for me,” he said. “This (Metro) is a thread that links all of our community.”

Joyce noted he’s used the system for trips to and from Midway.

“These projects are no-brainers. Projects for transit, parks, rivers are all vitally important to us. It’s nice to be standing in this building.”

Metro offers public transportation seven days a week. Service hours are from 5 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 6:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Saturday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Sundays and holidays.

IDOT delivers

The system employs a maintenance and administrative staff of 26. The system uses some 50-55 drivers, but the drivers are employed through We Drive U, a service Metro contracts with.

Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Gia Biagi, who is becoming a well-known face in Kankakee County, having been in Bourbonnais Township on Aug. 12 for the official opening of the $13.9 million Armour Road and Bradley Boulevard intersection, said projects such as this are about collaboration.

In short, she said, everyone must be pulling on the rope in the same direction, rather than against one another, in an effort to move Illinois forward.

“We are about investing and making great places,” she said.

She added on top of the $9 million invested in the Metro building, the state has invested substantially in upgrading the bus fleet, helping unlock $1.4 million for new paratransit vehicles and $3.5 million for four 35-foot heavy-duty buses.

“Add it up and Kankakee County has a more modern, reliable, safe and accessible transit experience for everyone,” she said.

Metro board chairman Mark Argyelan summed up what this transportation system means.

“This system makes lives work,” he said. “Transit is how we improve people’s lives.”

He said this garage was constructed with the future in mind, meaning it offers room to grow.

Through its $12-million operating budget, Metro offers 13 daily fixed routes within Kankakee County, plus daily trips to Midway airport as well as paratransit services.

At any point in time during weekday service, there are 19 Metro buses on the road.