Riders are returning to Golden Empire Transit buses after the correction of unpopular route changes and the resolution of a five-week strike over the summer.

Board member Elliot Kirschenmann says GET’s fair box recovery ratio is up from less than 10 percent after the strike.

“Our average for the year is 16.2 percent. So, it’s obviously not 20 percent, which means we have a lot of work to do, but I would like to report that we are making progress,” he told the Bakersfield City Council on Wednesday night.

The Kern Council of Governments may reduce its funding for GET if the agency can’t finance 20 percent of its operations through fares. Kirschenmann says the rate was at 25 percent last month.

– Anthony Pollreisz