Gold Coast Transit District’s Robert Lurie, Director of Fleet and Facilities, Retires After 35 Years

After nearly 35 years of dedicated service, Gold Coast Transit District’s Robert Lurie, director of fleet and facilities has retired.

Lurie joined GCTD (then known as SCAT) in March of 1982 as a mechanic and by 1986 he was promoted to the position of maintenance supervisor where he excelled for over a decade. In 1999, Lurie was promoted to director of maintenance, and in 2001, took on the additional role of director of fleet and facilities, a leadership position which he has held for the last 15 years. During his 35 years at SCAT/GCTD Lurie has seen its fleet and ridership more than double in size.

Throughout his time at GCTD, Lurie passed on his knowledge to numerous staff and has been involved in countless acquisitions of new equipment and fleet vehicles, all of which have contributed to the District’s mission of providing high-quality transit service to Western Ventura County.

Beyond GCTD, Lurie has also become a well-known and respected figure within the transit industry for his expertise as a bus mechanic and as one of the first in the state to successfully implement a 100% clean Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fleet. To put his experience into numbers, sum up all of the vehicle miles that Lurie and his team have serviced over the last 35 years and the mileage adds up to over 50 million vehicle miles.

Lurie now plans to enjoy his retirement with his wife Deborah, and their three grown children, Jeffery, Colleen, and Matthew.  

"On behalf of Gold Coast Transit District, I want to sincerely thank Rob Lurie for the contributions he has made to the growth and success of the District over his 35-year career,” stated Steve Brown, Gold Coast Transit District’s general manager. “I and the Board wish him a relaxing, rewarding and much-deserved retirement.”