Mike Mollgaard had a problem. The 62-year-old retiree needed to repair his car, yet the closest auto body shop was in Bishop, more than 40 miles from his home in Mammoth Lakes. The solution came in a surprising form for a deeply rural community like the Eastern Sierra: his local bus system. 

Mollgaard dropped his car off in Bishop and then, for $7, rode a bus 40 miles to and from his home, thanks to the Eastern Sierra Transit Authority. The rural transit agency offers regular rides to Nevada or Los Angeles, stretching over 400 miles across the state. It’s likely the longest service area for local transit in California. 

“I think it’s great that somebody can get to Reno or Lancaster from here on public transit. I think that’s incredible since we don’t have a Greyhound here,” Mollgaard said. “I think ESTA is a good service, and even though I have a car and use it quite a bit, I still value the bus system.”

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It’s rare to hear Americans rave about public transit, but ESTA is an anomaly in more ways than one. It has one of the largest coverage areas of any local transit agency in the state, with rides stretching from Reno to the north to Los Angeles County to the south. And while other California transit agencies face financial headwinds or are increasing how much they charge riders, ESTA provides free transit in Mammoth Lakes. During the winter ski season, 100,000 riders a month take the buses.

FILE: A man and a woman riding the Mammoth Lakes shuttle in 2022 with mountains and pine trees in the background.

ESTA was founded in 2006 as a merger between Mono and Inyo counties — two of the least populated counties in the state, with less than 35,000 residents between them — and the municipalities of Bishop and Mammoth Lakes. The agency runs eight bus lines within the town of Mammoth Lakes, all of which are free to use thanks in part to local tax dollars from the town and funding from the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, which contracts with ESTA to provide........

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