The school district’s new transportation building is as shiny as its yellow buses.

“There was a dire need for it,” said Ron Schepers, Renton School District director of transportation.

During the facility’s construction, a two-story portable trailer and the parking lot behind the Fred Meyer made up the district’s transportation department.

“We’ve gone from a shack to this,” said Suzy Loveless, a driver with the Renton School District for 22 years, laughing. “We were trailer trash.”

The driver’s new lounge, where many are left waiting hours between shifts, is as spacious as the 104-stall bus lot outside.

A computer station allows drivers to access needed information, and a large kitchen and extra refrigerator cater to the driver’s 9 a.m. lunches.

“It’s almost like home,” said eight-year driver Valerie Patton.

The drivers were so excited about the new space, they threw a shower for their kitchen.

The $8.2 million, 4 1/2-acre bus depot was paid for as part of a larger bond measure and was completed this fall.

Three of the five bus garage stalls have hydraulic lifts, so workers can stand beneath them. Before, the district used pits.

“The pits are kind of dangerous, because when there are no buses there, it’s basically a pit you can fall in,” said project manager Stewart Shusterman.

A sixth bay hosts a lift for short buses and district vehicles.

New equipment such as a machine that balances tires, saves time and money.

“We can do more of our work in house, rather than paying someone to do it for us,” Schepers said.

Parts storage rooms are joined to the sprawling garage, which opens its doors to the paved bus lot.

Placed in the center of the lot, an automated bus washer allows drivers to clean their buses. Before, the district paid for monthly bus-washing services.

Next to the washer, a five-pump gas station replaces the district’s previous two-pump station.

“Sometimes there were backups because it was the only place you could get fuel,” Schepers said.

Many districts don’t have their own pumps, though it saves time and miles, he said.

Drivers will be given chip keys to activate the pumps. The chips allow the district to easily measure the amount of fuel each bus driver uses.

The new building also comes with a small training and meeting room for drivers.