CalACT recognizes ESTA as outstanding

The California Association of Coordinated Transportation (CalACT) recognized the Eastern Sierra Transit Agency (ESTA) as the 2015 Outstanding Rural Transit Agency at an awards luncheon on April 14. CalACT is a non-profit representing small, rural, and specialized transportation providers statewide, and is the largest transit association in the nation.

ESTA’s Executive Director John Helm received the award at the CalACT Spring Conference at Tenaya Lodge in Fish Camp, California.

“The motivation for the award to ESTA is not only the high quality service the agency provides, but also the innovative ideas that brought about expansion of services through entrepreneurial agreements with the U.S. Forest Service and the Ski Area,” Helm said.

Since 2007, ESTA has provided service spanning 400 miles, from Lancaster to Reno. In 2009, ESTA began operating summer shuttle service from Mammoth Mountain Ski Area (MMSA) Main Lodge to Devil’s Postpile National Monument and Red’s Meadow, in addition to trolley service to the Lakes Basin. In 2012, ESTA replaced MMSA bus service to Main Lodge. In 2014, ESTA started bus service to Whitmore Pool.

ESTA’s predecessor, Inyo Mono Transit, received a similar award prior to 2007, Helm said. Inyo Mono Transit was a division of Inyo County, providing services within Inyo County with some expanded services into the Mammoth Area. “It was at the initiative of Mono County and the Town of Mammoth Lakes to create a more regionally focuses transit agency rather than one focused in one county,” Helm said.

Helm said the 2015 Outstanding Rural Transit Agency award is “a great recognition for our employees and the Board of Directors in the direction they are taking ESTA. It’s really isolated here in rural eastern California and its nice to acknowledge the great job that they all do on a daily basis.”

For a comprehensive list of services and routes, visit estransit.com.