Listen here:
The wide expanse of the high desert can often feel fragmented, our shifting destinations distant, inconvenient and even dangerous due to our extreme weather and pitch-black nights. With the option of a walking commute a rarity, it’s ironic we live in an area of such natural beauty yet spend most of our time confined to our automobiles; our eyes fixated on the road rather than the gorgeous panorama surrounding us.
As a seven-year resident of the Morongo Basin, I recently discovered our overlooked public transit system. I imagine there’s plenty of other residents unaware it exists and just how much ground it covers.
Recently rebranded, The Morongo Basin Transit Authority is now Basin Transit. “We wanted a refresh, a facelift to spark new interest in ridership,” said Operations Manager Matt Akins. “On October 1st we debuted our new buses with new logo, colors, and new uniforms for our drivers.” Akins was kind enough direct me to Route 1, from Yucca Valley Transit Center on Airway and Yucca Trail to the 29 Palms Transit Center and back.
I documented my 50-minute journey, stop by stop.
- First was 29 Palms Hwy and Balsa, with Walgreens on one side and Yucca Bowl on the other
- Then we picked up/dropped off a crowd at Wal-Mart, also adjacent to Home Depot, Pet Co, and various other essential businesses. This stop was the most populated of my trip, with people running errands in the versatile shopping center.
- Next stop, Joshua Tree city limits at 29 Palms Hwy and Hallee, the cross street where you find the post office, Sam’s liquor and Indian Food, as well as our very own Z1077 offices from where we broadcast.
- Next is downtown Joshua Tree at Park, right in front of the JT Saloon, La Matadora Art Gallery, the Beauty Bubble, and Space Cowboy Books at Sun Alley Shops
- Continuing on through Joshua Tree, we stopped at Bonair, with Autocamp directly across the highway.
- The bus then traverses the perimeter of Hi-Desert Medical Center before stopping at the front lobby.
- Next, we make a left at the light to make a loop through Coppermountain College, providing front door service for the commuting student or staff.
- The city of 29 Palms is the next stop, right in front of the Stater Brothers, the first nerve center of the area.
- 29 Palms Hwy at El Sol is the next stop before we…
- … reach downtown at the 29 Palms Basin Transit Center. As the final stop before the bus turns around, there’s galleries, fantastic restaurants, White Label Vinyl record store, the Virginian Cocktails and the Out There Bar among other businesses that make 29 Palms a vital destination. For those in the military, there’s the Basin Transit route 3A that goes into the Marine base.
As we made our way back to the Yucca Valley Transit Center on the clean, spacious bus driven by friendly 29 Palms resident Amboy Sharma, I captured scenery I would have otherwise missed in a car, and experienced a fusion, rather than fragmentation, of the Morongo Basin.
For full-schedule and rates, please visit www.basin-transit.com
