A Golden Empire Transit bus driver called deputies Tuesday afternoon when he saw an unattended bag in the back of his bus.
At 1:40pm, a busy section of Mt. Vernon Avenue in East Bakersfield was shut down because of the bomb scare.
The sheriff's department and the CHP closed Mt. Vernon from Niles to Oregon Streets, while the bomb squad investigated the suspicious package.
Spokesperson for Golden Empire Transit Gina Hayden said the bus driver did the right thing to call authorities. "Anytime we have an unattended package or case on the bus we are going to view it suspiciously," she said.
Almost all of the time it turns out to be that someone just left their bag on the bus, she added. That was the case again today.
There were about a dozen passengers on the route at the time. A rider told the bus driver of the unattended bag.
The bus driver said it looked suspicious to him because it was clean and appeared new.
It was described as mid-sized piece of luggage, similar to an overnight bag.
The bus was evacuated, then driven a block away to the shoulder of Mt.Vernon Avenue, just north the Niles Street intersection.
A member of the Sheriff's Bomb Squad Team donned the safety gear and boarded the empty bus.
"He x-rayed the bag in question and didn't find any hazardous devices inside the bag," said Senior Deputy Michael Whorf.
The streets were re-opened after three hours.
It is not known what was in the bag or who it belongs to.
