A bus route set up 15 years ago to shuttle Bakersfield residents to and from work at the Tejon Ranch Commerce Center may have just about run its course.
The governing board of the Golden Empire Transit District hosted a hearing this week in anticipation of a decision on whether to pull the plug on an express service whose costs were at least partly covered by a partnership involving a co-owner of the center and one of its major employers.
GET reported no action was taken at Tuesday’s hearing and that the matter is set to come up again at the board’s next meeting on Oct. 17.
At least two factors play into the district’s considerations: GET says the service — Route X-92 — performs worse than any other in its lineup, and that one of the companies whose participation helped support the route has since withdrawn its support.
Closing the service, if it comes to that, would be the latest example of GET adjusting its offerings to rebalance customer demand with operational costs. It’s worth noting two other services provide transportation to the center, one operated by the city of Arvin, the other by Kern County government.
There appears to be some hope an alternative could arise to take X-92’s place.
Lebec-based Tejon Ranch Co., the agribusiness and real estate development company that co-owns the commerce center, sees the express bus as an important service it wants to see continue, not so much for shoppers but workers at the area’s distribution centers, restaurants and the Outlets at Tejon.
In 2008, TRC partnered with GET and Ikea, which has a distribution center at the commerce center, to establish X-92 as a cost-effective option for employee commuting purposes. Financial terms of the arrangement were not available.
Ikea has since pulled out of the deal. The company did not respond Friday to a question about the move.
TRC spokesman Barry Zoeller said by email the company had not been aware GET was considering halting X-92. He said the company has since contacted the district to better understand its reasons for looking at canceling the service.
Zoeller said the company continues to see the service as a benefit to the center’s employees, and that GET has been a great partner on the service. He offered no specifics but suggested an alternative may be coming.
“We’ve just engaged with GET to understand the opportunities they’re exploring to maintain a level of service,” he said.
From about 4 a.m. until midnight Monday through Friday, X-92 makes nine roundtrips from GET’s Downtown Transit Center in Bakersfield to its Kern Delta Park & Ride at McKee Road and South H Street, and from there to the Ikea Distribution Center along Industrial Parkway near Interstate 5.
The county service, Kern Transit, offers Route 130 between Bakersfield and Santa Clarita, stopping three times per day at the commerce center Monday through Saturday, in some cases by request only.
Arvin’s service makes two trips daily between the commerce center and the city’s Transit Department near Bear Mountain Boulevard and Plumtree Drive.
It’s unclear what information was provided at Tuesday’s hearing or how dire the financial need for change may be.
A spokeswoman for GET said no video recording of the hearing was available, and she did not respond to questions about how the route’s performance has changed over time or what ridership rates have been lately.
