Kern Transit

For public transportation in Bakersfield before 1973, see Bakersfield and Kern Electric Railway. For public transportation in Bakersfield after 1973, see Golden Empire Transit.

Kern Transit

Parent	Kern County Roads Department
Founded	1981 (1981)
Headquarters	2700 M Street
Locale	Bakersfield, California
Service area	Kern County, California
Service type	Bus service
Routes	16
Hubs	Bakersfield, Frazier Park, Lake Isabella, Mojave
Annual ridership	513,000 (2010)
Fuel type	CNG, Diesel
Operator	National Express Transit
Website	www.kerntransit.org

Kern Transit, formerly Kern Regional Transit, is the operator of mass transportation in Kern County, California. Primarily, it provides inter-regional transportation, connecting outlying regions with the city of Bakersfield (and with each other with a transfer in Bakersfield). It also provides inter-city transportation within specific regions. Kern (Regional) Transit is operated by the Kern County Department of Roads. The agency was founded in 1981. Its headquarters are located in Bakersfield.

In January 2017, operation of Kern Transit was taken over by National Express Transit.

Routes

Originate in Bakersfield

Route Name	Terminals		Communities Served	Connecting Services	Notes
East Kern (100- Lancaster via Tehachapi)	Amtrak Station Bakersfield	Lancaster Metrolink	Bakersfield, Keene, Tehachapi, Mojave, Rosamond, Lancaster	Amtrak California Eastern Sierra Transit Authority Antelope Valley Transit Authority	Runs everyday Route 100 runs Monday-Thursday evening services to Tehachapi.
North Kern (110- Delano & 115- Lost Hills)	GET Downtown Transit Center, Bakersfield College (Route 110 on weekdays only), Valley Plaza (Route 110 on weekends only)	Delano Community Center Delano (Route 110) Lost Hills Post Office Lost Hills (Route 115)	Bakersfield, Shafter, Wasco, Lost Hills, McFarland, Delano	Amtrak California (Wasco Station) Delano Area Rapid Transit (110 only) Tulare County Area Transit (110 only)	Route 110 runs everyday while route 115 runs only on Thursdays and Saturdays
West Kern (120- Taft)	GET Downtown Transit Center Amtrak Station Bakersfield	Taft Transit Center Taft	Bakersfield, Dustin Acres, Valley Acres, Taft	Amtrak California Taft Area Transit to Maricopa	Runs Monday-Saturday
Frazier Park Area (130- Frazier Park/Santa Clarita)	GET Downtown Transit Center Bakersfield	McBean Regional Transit Center Frazier Park Post Office	Bakersfield, Wheeler Ridge, Lebec, Frazier Park, Santa Clarita	Amtrak California Santa Clarita Metrolink Station Santa Clarita Transit	Runs Monday-Saturday [Service to Santa Clarita runs on weekdays only and Saturday trips end at Frazier Park.]
Lamont Area (140 [Bakersfield North Route] & 145 [Bakersfield South Route])	Greyhound Bus Station/18th St. (140) GET Downtown Transit Center (145) Bakersfield	Arvin City Hall Arvin	Bakersfield, Lamont, Weedpatch, Arvin	Arvin Transit	Both routes run everyday Evening service (140 [North]) runs Monday-Thursday to Arvin Route 145, on weekdays, only runs to Weedpatch, but services to Arvin on weekends.
Kern River Valley (150-Lake Isabella)	GET Downtown Transit Center Bakersfield	Lake Isabella Senior Center Lake Isabella	Bakersfield, Lake Isabella	Amtrak California	Runs everyday

Other routes

Route Name	Terminals		Communities Served	Connecting Services	Notes
Boron - Mojave Route (240)	Inyo St & Hwy 14 Mojave	Boron Post Office Boron	Boron, Mojave, North Edwards	Eastern Sierra Transit Authority	Runs Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays
Frazier Park Local (210)	Frazier Park Lumber and Hardware Frazier Park	Pine Mountain Club	Frazier Park, Lake of the Woods, Pine Mountain Club, Pinon Pines Estates		Runs Tuesday and Saturday only
Kern River Valley (220 [Lake Isabella - Kernville], 223 [Lake Isabella - Bodfish Loop], and 225 [Lake Isabella - Onyx])	Lake Isabella Senior Center Lake Isabella	Route 220: Valley View Dr. & Sierra Way/ Kern Valley Airport Kernville Route 223: North Rd. & Columbus Ave.Bodfish Route 225: Scodie Park Rd. & Cypress St. Onyx	Bodfish (Rte 223), Kernville (220), Lake Isabella, Mountain Mesa (225), Onyx (225), South Lake (225), Weldon (225), Wofford Heights (220)		Runs Monday-Saturday
Kernville - Lake Isabella - Ridgecrest Route (227)	Tobias St. & Kernville Rd. Kernville Lake Isabella Senior Center Lake Isabella	Walmart/China Lake Blvd. Ridgecrest	Kernville, Wofford Heights, Lake Isabella, Mountain Mesa, South Lake, Weldon, Onyx, Walker Pass, Inyokern, Ridgecrest		Runs on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday only
Lancaster - California City Route (250)	Mobil/Avenue J Lancaster	Rite Aid/California City Blvd. California City	California City, Mojave, Rosamond, Lancaster	Metrolink Amtrak California Eastern Sierra Transit Authority Antelope Valley Transit Authority	Runs Monday-Saturday
Mojave - Ridgecrest Route (230)	Inyo St & Hwy 14 Mojave	Walmart/ China Lake Blvd. Ridgecrest	Mojave, California City, Inyokern, Ridgecrest	Eastern Sierra Transit Authority RidgeRunner (Ridgecrest Transit System)	Runs on Monday, Wednesday, & Friday only

Hubs and connecting services

Bakersfield is the central hub for the inter-regional routes. Buses stop at the Downtown Transit Center (operated by Golden Empire Transit), or the Bakersfield Amtrak Station which is also located downtown, or both. Bus bays are used at the Amtrak Station, while none are available at the Transit Center. Buses instead park on Chester Avenue, in front of it. Depending on the route, Kern Regional Transit makes additional stops in Bakersfield, but are generally used either to board or discharge passengers (depending on the direction the bus is traveling).

Additional hubs are located in Frazier Park, Lake Isabella, and Mojave. Passengers transfer from inter-regional routes to inter-city routes that serve the specific region. Many of these routes were requested and funded by local governments, instead of operating their own transit system.

Some local governments have funded their own public transportation system, instead of relying on Kern Regional Transit. These include Arvin (Arvin Transit), Delano (Delano Area Rapid Transit), and Taft (Taft Area Transit). In addition, Shafter and Wasco provide their own Dial-a-ride service, which serves their communities.

Fare and schedule

• Local Routes:

(140,145,210,220,223,&225) & All Dial-A-Rides operated by Kern Transit

General Fare: $2.00/Reduced Fare: $1.00

• Inter-Community Routes:

([100 not traveling through Tehachapi],110,115,120,[130 not traveling through Frazier Park],150,227,230,240,&250)

General Fare: $3.00 Reduced Fare: $1.50

• Cross County Routes:

100 traveling through Tehachapi and 130 traveling through Frazier Park

General Fare: $5.00 Reduced Fare: $2.50

Operating days vary greatly depending on the route. Most of the long distance inter-regional (100,110,120,130,250)routes run 6 or 7 days a week. However, some (227,230) run 3 days a week. Shorter regional routes (115,210,240) mostly run 2 or 3 days a week. However, some (all Kern River Valley routes, 140,145) run 6 or 7 days a week.

Fleet

Because of the wide variety of demand for service in various areas, Kern Regional Transit uses a variety of vehicles. The fleet consists of 40-foot, 35-foot, 30-foot, and 21-foot buses which are used on scheduled routes depending on the number of riders.

All buses are equipped with wheelchair ramps, and offer bicycle racks. A portion of the fleet runs on compressed natural gas. The paint scheme is white, with "Regional Transit" in large letters in the center, on all sides. On the sides, a small "Kern Regional Transit" logo is directly in front of "Regional Transit", with the slogan "...your county connection" directly behind. Changeable signs, which list the destination city, are only on the front and left side of the bus.

Maintenance facility

The maintenance facility is located on Victor Street, just south of Olive Drive in Northwest Bakersfield. It contains parking for the entire fleet, shops, bus wash, and cleaning facilities. The facility does not contain the headquarters for the agency. That is located in the Public Services Building on "M" Street.

External links

• kerntransit.org