PHIL GETS OFF THE BUS

Published in the March 28, 2026 edition.

Phil Moores is looking for more. More time with his family, more opportunities for travel, more reps on his golf swing.

After 34 years in the public transit industry, seven of which were spent as the Executive Director of Eastern Sierra Transit Authority (ESTA), 62-year-old Moores is retiring. His last day in the role will be April 14th.

“It’s something I planned for 44 years, basically,” Moores said. “I haven’t had more than two weeks of vacation in 44 years.”

Over the course of his career, Moores has worked for five different transit authorities. 

But he didn’t always want to work in the industry. He fell into the role unexpectedly, when his wife was pregnant. Moores needed a substantial job to take care of his young family. His neighbor in Orange County got a gig as a bus driver. The pay was good, with a clear career-track and benefits. Moores was in.

“I’ve really bought into the tortoise and the hare analogy,” he said. “I’m the tortoise. I never stopped moving forward until I could take a vacation. Permanently.”

Like the animal in the fable, Moores slowly inched his way up the transit industry ladder. He started off as a bus driver, then became the Operations Supervisor and the Transportation Planner for the Orange County Transportation Authority. He then transitioned to Assistant Transportation Manager for Los Angeles Metro. After that, he worked as the Operations Manager for Riverside Transit Agency, and, most recently, as Operations Manager for San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority.

Moores made the move to ESTA in the fall of 2018, stepping into the top role of Executive Director.

“I love [ESTA]. It’s been fantastic,” Moores reflected. “Where I live, the communities I’ve been a part of, it’s just been wonderful.”

Over the past seven years, he led his team of 70 employees with intention. Training his staff is expensive and labor intensive, he explained. Becoming a bus driver takes weeks and $10,000 per employee from ESTA’s pocket. Investing in his staff has paid off.

“My goal was to make ESTA a premier employer in the region,” Moores said. “I feel like we’re there. We’ve got so much talent right now.”

Moores worked tirelessly to implement ESTA’s values of safety, customer service, and timeliness. 

He encouraged his staff to weigh any issues they came across against those values. If safety was the issue, forget about customer service. Or if an individual wanted more time to discuss the bus schedule with a driver, it’s okay to be a few minutes late.

“We treat people like ladies and gents. Not because they are, but because we are,” Moores said. “With those kinds of values and ideas, we give the best service possible.”

Under Moores’ leadership, ESTA partnered with Eastside organizations, including Inyo Mono Advocates for Community Action (IMACA), to provide services to the broader community.

During the pandemic, ESTA partnered with IMACA to deliver food and other goods like heaters to keep people warm. When the buses retire, ESTA will often put them in the hands of the Eastside Student Center and local churches.

“People often call ESTA and ask us what we do with our older vehicles,” he said. “I’ve taken to giving them to nonprofits and supporting the local community when they can’t afford to buy one themselves.”

Last year, ESTA ran Moores’ favorite partnership program with daycares and kindergartens in Mono and Inyo County. An ESTA employee (often Moores himself, he noted) read the class a book, and gave each child a backpack stuffed with transit related goodies. Afterwards, everyone went on a bus ride.

“It was a blast,” he remembered.

Moores recognized some of the organization’s shortcomings, including mechanical issues within the fleet of vehicles. The majority of ESTA’s buses are 14 years old, which impacts the organization’s general dependability. Moores was able to secure an $8 million grant from Caltrans to replace 14 buses with new vehicles for the free bus routes in Mammoth, effective within the next 18 months.

Even with Moores stepping away from the role, ESTA is continuing to expand. The company is looking to run services in June Lake, implement general express transportation between the airports in Bishop and Mammoth, and build a new ESTA administrative building at the Bishop airport.

Moores and his wife, Lisa, currently live in Aspendell. After Moores’ retirement, the couple will relocate to Tehachapi, away from the snow and towards their future.

As for what Moores plans to do when he hangs up his hat as ESTA Executive Director? 

Travel.

“I’ve always wanted to go somewhere and not know when I’m coming back.”