KERN TRANSPORTATION FOUNDATION

Newsletter
KTF Newsletter, Issue 12

DIRECTORS
Donna Carpenter
Chairman
Jack Gotcher
CFO
Peter Smith
Secretary
Gary Blackburn
Leigh Ann Cook
David Couch
Steve Esselman
Jim Hunter, Mobilization
Ted James
Karen King
Jess Ortiz
Cindy Parra
Larry Pickett
Patricia Poire
Cathy Prout
Howard Silver
John Spaulding
Will Winn, Newsletter

TECHNICAL
ADVISORS
Bob Neath
John Schuler
Ted Wright
KernCOG

June 2015

THE NEW AND IMPROVED

KERN REGIONAL TRANSIT SYSTEM
Kern County Regional Transportation is changing with
the times and taking steps to
upgrade its service and efficiency, said Bob Neath, Manager and supervising engineer, as he addressed the
Mojave Chamber of Commerce last Fall and shared
how re-branding efforts and
expanded advertising are
transforming what will now
be called Kern Transit.
Neath, who has twenty-three
years in the transportation
field, explained that he headed up a comprehensive evaluation of the countys bus service. We had to ask ourselves, what have we found and how are we going to transform it. Staff identified strengths that included financial stability, consistent 10% farebox return ratios, and a fleet of newer buses with a majority under five years old which is anticipated to be 75% by 2016.
On the minus side, dated branding, poor marketing outreach, sub-standard on-time
performance, outdated schedules and fare structures, and abuse of discount fares
were deemed significant weaknesses. Basically, nobody knew who we were. We
determined that we must market ourselves. The department tackled the branding issue by updating the old poppy logo to a more dynamic image and simplifying the agency name to a concise Kern Transit. Beginning in September 2014,
new bus stop signs will go up along roadways and provide route and destination information for each stop, Neath said. Additionally, a streamlined set of bus schedule will be developed that replaces the previous confusing guide. The new schedule
reduces the prior nineteen separate schedules to just six regional guides. Colorcoded routes on the new updated maps now show all of the bus stops in easy-toread timetables.
The new system-wide schedule will vastly improved on-time performance, he reported. Our on-time performance is now phenomenalin the eighty to ninety
percentile levels We also got rid of the loops, so it is now point to point. And, the
new scheduling connects Kern Transit routes with other transit agencies such as
Amtrak , Greyhound and the many local transportation systems that exist in and
around Kern Countys cities and communities,.

KTF Newsletter,

June 2015

The Kern
Transportation
Foundation
promotes a
modern, balanced
transportation
system that
enhances the
quality of life and
advances the
economic vitality
of the residents of
Kern County.

Page 2

KTF Newsletter

June 2015

Page 3

HIGH SPEED RAIL VIADUCT CONSTRUCTION

Tim Sheehan, Fresno Bee
MADERA

Heavy construction work on Californias high-speed rail project formally

commenced Tuesday in a dusty field
next to a freight railroad line.
Work crews are building the first of 16
concrete footings that will become the
foundation of a 1,600-foot viaduct, or
elevated bridge, over the Fresno River,
Highway 145 and Raymond Road. The
construction is the first visual that people can start seeing us building up, said
Diana Gomez, Central Valley regional
director for the California High-Speed
Rail Authority. The work is part of the
authoritys first construction segment in
the state, a 29-mile stretch from the
northeast edge of Madera to the south
end of Fresno. It comes two years after
the agency awarded the $1 billion contract for the section.
To some people, this seems like its
been a long time coming, said Jeff Morales, the authoritys CEO. But now, he added, work
will accelerate, expanding to other sites in Fresno and Madera counties. Over the next few
months, people will see things happening at about a half-dozen different sites, Morales said.
By the end of the summer, you wont be able to go anywhere in the Valley without seeing
people in orange vests and green shirts hard at work. As of last week, the authority has possession of more than 200 of the 536 parcels it needs in the Fresno-Madera section. It also has
about 50 of the 543 parcels for right of way in its second construction segment, a 65-mile
stretch from American Avenue at the south end of Fresno to the Tulare-Kern county line.
Gomez said that other major construction expected to get under
way this summer are street over- and underpasses. Those include
new underpasses at Tulare and Ventura streets in downtown Fresno
and a rail crossing under Highway 180 just north of downtown
Fresno.
The construction sections in the Valley are planned as the backbone
of a 520-mile, $68 billion statewide bullet-train line connecting San
Francisco and Los Angeles by way of Merced, Fresno, Bakersfield
and Palmdale by 2028. Future extensions would run to Sacramento
Jeff Morales, CEO CA HSR
and San Diego.

KTF Newsletter

Kern
Transportation
Foundation
Find KTF on
Face Book
P.O. Box 417
Bakersfield, CA
93302-0417
Web Page Under
Construction

June 2015

AIRPORT BUS

Page 4

is now

Airport Valet Express

The new and improved locally owned bus service to Los Angeles International Airport
from Bakersfield, California is now up and running after a few technical delays. Many
people in the Southern San Joaquin Valley have used this type of service for several
years to find more reasonable fares connected with flights leaving and arriving at LAX.
Departures from Bakersfield to LAX begin everyday at 3 AM and 8 AM, and 3 PM and
6PM. Express buses from LAX to Bakersfield depart at 10 AM and 2:30, 7:30 and 11
PM. Fares are $49 One Way and $89 Round Trip. One bag and a carry-on are included. Reasonably priced reserved parking is also provided. All the details and contacts
are given on their new webpage: http://airportvaletexpress.com/

Kern Transportation
Foundation Mission
Statement
The mission of the Kern
Transportation
Foundation is to provide a
forum for advancing the
requirements of a
modern, balanced
transportation system
that meets the economic
and social needs of the
public in Kern County.
The Kern Transportation
Foundation will work to
the following:
- Identify and create
public awareness of
current and future
transportation needs in
Kern County.
- Investigate solutions to
providing a balanced
transportation systems.
- Build the private/public
partnership required to
develop a modern,
balanced transportation
system.

KTF

DIRECTLY TO

Airport Valet Express

201 New Stine Rd. Suite 120
Bakersfield, CA 93309
661-363-5000