Coastal Journal

Two nonprofits have stepped in to take over public transit services in midcoast Maine for riders who have low incomes, are elderly or have disabilities.

The area had been served by Rockland-based Coastal Trans Inc., which announced it would cease operation April 22.

Waldo Community Action Partners will cover services for Maine Department of Transportation Region 5, which includes Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc and Waldo counties, as well as the municipalities of Brunswick and Harpswell. Western Maine Transportation Services will take over the Brunswick Explorer, a bus service in Brunswick operated by Coastal Trans.

According to Coastal Trans Executive Director Lee Karker, the organizations are working to make the transition as seamless as possible.

“I was expecting that Maine DOT would find someone as quickly as they could to do this, because they’re responsible for transportation throughout the state,” said Karker. “I knew that if we closed our doors, they’d be wanting to get somebody there as soon as possible.”

The community action agency has been providing “demand-response public transportation services” in Waldo County since 1972. Demand-response transportation allows patrons to call the organization in advance when they need to access services.

“We’re just an adjacent nonprofit, similar to Coastal Trans,” said agency Executive Director Keith Small. “We have experience in the same type of transportation in our region.”

WCAP has 20 volunteer drivers and serves almost 1,200 people in Waldo County, according to Small. Coastal Transportation, as of last year, provided rides to slightly more than 800 people.

He added that all employees of Coastal Trans would be offered positions with the organization.

“Certainly as they contact us, we’ll take applications and get the process moving,” said Small. “It makes sense to take people that are familiar with the route.”

The Brunswick Explorer had already been running on a reduced schedule because of funding problems. The organization has, over the past seven years, lost nearly $1 million in grant funding.

Western Maine Transportation, which operates in Oxford, Franklin and Androscoggin counties, plans to keep the Brunswick Explorer program running as normal.

“We’re going to start with it as it is. Our hope is to, as funding and opportunity allow, expand the service or to build it,” said WMTS Community Relations Director Craig Zurhorst. “We’re hoping this is going to be completely transparent to the riders.”

WMTS has been providing services since 1976, and manages the bus system in Lewiston-Auburn.

“Coastal Trans has done a great job with it, and done everything they could,” said Zurhorst. “We’re very sad that they had to give it up, but we’re glad we’re in a position that we can take it on and make sure people don’t lose transportation options.”

cchase@coastaljournal.com

Twitter: cchaseCJ

Copy the Story Link