bakersfield before 1973 see bakersfield and kern electric railway . for regional public transportation in kern county see kern regional transit . golden empire transit founded 1973 headquarters 1830 golden state avenue locale bakersfield california service area greater bakersfield service type bus service routes 16 stops 1 600 hubs downtown transit center southwest transit center bakersfield college fleet 88 standard buses 19 get a lift buses daily ridership 23 000 2010 annual ridership 7.3 million 2010 fuel type cng website www.getbus.org golden empire transit is the operator of mass transportation in bakersfield california . there are 16 routes serving greater bakersfield which includes both the city of bakersfield and adjacent unincorporated communities . it however does not serve rio bravo . although a part of the city the area is too rural for urban bus service . since 2005 the entire bus fleet is powered by compressed natural gas . the government agency is an independent transit agency and is not directly associated with either the city of bakersfield or the county of kern . however it does coordinate with both the city and county as well as the kern council of governments which represents most local governments in the county . it is also the direct descendent of the bakersfield and kern electric railway which originally provided streetcar service to the city . contents 1 history 2 routes 2.1 local routes 2.2 rapid routes 2.3 express routes 2.4 long distance express routes 3 transit centers 3.1 downtown transit center 3.2 southwest transit center 3.3 bakersfield college transit center 4 services 4.1 bicycle transportation 4.2 the reading express 5 fare and fare collection 6 fleet 7 maintenance facility 8 future 9 references history edit prior to the mid 1950s public transportation in bakersfield was provided by a private company named the bakersfield transit company formerly the bakersfield and kern electric railway . however yearly losses resulted in the city acquiring it in 1956 under the new name bakersfield transit agency . the city made little investments in the system . already suffering from deferred maintenance from the previous owner the lack of investment resulted in the system sinking into further disrepair . operating losses were also increasing . 1 in 1973 voters approved a measure which established the golden empire transit district . it would take over ownership and operation of the bakersfield transit agency . the new transit district started purchasing new equipment . it also eliminated unnecessary routes . in 1986 the transit authority would undergo its first major alteration in the system . previously routes were running in circular routes . the company changed to a crosstown system . buses operated on linear paths and generally looped back when the bus needed to change direction . they also operated between transit hubs . the first was located downtown downtown transit center . later a second was added at the valley plaza mall in the southwest southwest transit center . a third transit center was built in 2011 on panorama drive at bakersfield college . golden empire transit implemented a new system of routes in october 7 2012 . the system transitioned from a crosstown system to an express local system . although the agency divides the system into five categories it is easier to describe it in three . express service runs between major destinations on the most direct route . it also makes a limited number of stops . rapid service runs more frequently than express and makes more stops between end points . local routes stop most frequently . routes have been straightened for faster service . 2 routes edit local routes edit routes that begin with either a 4 or a 6 are local routes . technically golden empire transit defines routes that begin with a 6 as circulation routes but they operate the same ; except for the headway . local routes make frequent stops . routes that start with a 4 run every 30 minutes while routes that start with a 6 run every hour . route terminush via hubs served notes 41 3 bakersfield college transit center mt. vernon avenue south union avenue panama lane white lane southwest transit center 42 4 golden empire transit office golden state avenue f street 21st street oak street monitor street downtown transit center southwest transit center walmart panama lane state route 99 43 5 bakersfield college transit center truxtun avenue cbcc sat . only q street extends on q street and services on san dimas behind memorial hospital columbus street downtown transit center truxtun avenue office park drive 44 6 bakersfield college transit center mt. vernon avenue s. union avenue ming avenue white lane mcnair gosford 45 7 james road n. chester avenue mccray drive buck owens boulevard 24th street james road truxtun avenue niles street downtown transit center foothill boulevard morning drive 46 8 new stine road stockdale highway stockdale highway clinica sierra vista potomac 4th street virginia avenue pioneer drive foothill boulevard weedpatch highway 47 9 office park drive commercial way new stine road stine road panama lane no longer goes to panama walmart 61 10 bakersfield college transit center columbus avenue olive drive coffee road gosford road harris road cal state bakersfield transit center stine harris 62 11 southwest transit center hughes avenue h street hosking avenue stine road panama lane stine road rapid routes edit routes that begin with a 2 are rapid routes . they make fewer stops than local and express routes but run more frequently . rapid routes run every 15 minutes . route terminus via hubs served notes 21 12 cal state bakersfield transit center stockdale highway california avenue mt. vernon avenue bakersfield college transit center 22 13 mccray street universe avenue chester avenue ming avenue southwest transit center downtown transit center cal state bakersfield transit center express routes edit routes that begin with an 8 are express circulator routes . this group can generally be considered in two categories . route 81 operates as in express for its entire length stopping only at transit centers . routes 82 and 84 run as express routes between the downtown transit center and nw promenade on rosedale and run local beyond the nw promemade hub . route 83 operates as in local for its enture length making frequent stops . all four routes run either every 30 minutes 45 minutes or every hour . route terminus via hubs served express between notes 81 14 bakersfield college transit center only stops at transit centers . downtown tansit center express between three transit centers . southwest transit center 82 15 downtown transit center rosedale highway brimhall road stockdale highway downtown transit center downtown transit center and coffee road rosedale highway cal state bakersfield 83 16 wilson road ashe road plaza towers and southwest transit center via . n. halfmoon drive and s. union barc southwest transit center north half moon drive ashe road 84 17 downtown transit center old farm road hagaman road rosedale highway downtown tansit center downtown transit center and coffee road rosedale highway frontier high school long distance express routes edit routes that begin with a 9 are long distance express routes . they generally connect bakersfield with large industrial centers or other areas of large employment outside of the city . they make only a few stops in bakersfield and then make no additional stops until reaching the industrial center . it will then make frequent stops within the center . long distance express routes run every 2 hours and generally do not run in the evenings . there is only one route in the system x92.this route has an x before the route number . a regular day pass for the route x92 is 6.00 . and a monthly pass is 55.00 . this route operates almost like the old service route 16 it runs from downtown bakersfield to tejon ranch ikea then comes back and ends service until 5 00pm at the downtown transit center bakersfield . this route now parks in bay f in the downtown transit center . 18 downtown transit center owspan 2 kern delta park and ride south h street mckee road rowspan 2 tejon industrial complex laval road interstate 5 transit centers edit downtown transit center edit the downtown transit center is the transit center primarily serving northwest north and east bakersfield . it is located in downtown bakersfield in between chester avenue and eye street on 22nd street . it is the largest transit center in the system encompassing 1 2 of a city block . it has 15 off street bus parking spaces . the transit center is staffed and includes restrooms and shaded outdoor waiting areas . the transit center was constructed in the mid 1980s . in addition to golden empire transit kern regional transit also uses the transit center for one of its hubs . they currently have 6 routes that stop at it although not all routes run 7 days a week . their buses stop on the south side of the transit center . southwest transit center edit the southwest transit center is the transit center primarily serving southwest south and southeast bakersfield . it is located on 1912 wible road south of ming avenue directly adjacent to valley plaza mall . it has 7 off street bus parking spaces . the transit center is unstaffed and contains restrooms and shaded waiting areas . the transit center was constructed in the mid 1990s . it is currently over capacity with two bus spaces being shared with two bus routes each at different times . in addition two bus routes stop on wible road north of the transit center . there is no room for expansion . in the past it had been suggested moving the transit center to a new location but those plans have been shelved in favor of other priorities . bakersfield college transit center edit this transit center is located on panorama drive adjacent to bakersfield college . it has 8 off street parking spaces . six spaces are currently used by get and one is used by kern regional transit . the transit center is unstaffed and contains restrooms and shaded waiting areas . services edit bicycle transportation edit all golden empire transit buses are equipped with bike racks . each rack can hold two bicycles . if the rack is full the driver may allow bicycles to be carried on the bus if there is room . otherwise bicycle riders must wait for the next bus . 19 most bus stops and all transit centers do not have bicycle racks or storage lockers . to complement the bus system there is also a network of bike paths and bike lanes . the kern river bike path is a dedicated bike path that runs along the kern river in the kern river parkway . it travels through almost the entire length of the city . several spur routes diverge from the bike path serving other locations such as california state university bakersfield . in addition many 1 mile spaced arterials have dedicated striped bike lanes . the width of the lane depends on whether on street parking is allowed . 20 the reading express edit the reading express is a program provided by golden empire transit . most buses are equipped with a small library of books for children from infant through third grade . the program is design for parents to read with their children while riding together on the bus . this also promotes education as well as providing entertainment while traveling . books can not be borrowed and must remain on the bus . 21 fare and fare collection edit the following are golden empire transit fares effective august 1 2011 children below 6 ride for free with fare paying rider limit is 3 22 fare type regular senior disabled medicare single ride 1.50 0.75 express single ride 3 get a lift single ride n