Officials in Lakes Region towns were disappointed to learn this week that proposed weekday bus service from Harrison to Portland will not become a reality.

David Willauer of the Greater Portland Council of Governments sent a memo to town officials Monday saying that higher estimated operating costs and only five towns voting to pay a portion of the costs make it difficult to pursue the service further.

The 12 towns asked to share the cost were Bridgton, Casco, Denmark, Gray, Falmouth, Harrison, Naples, New Gloucester, Raymond, Sebago, Standish and Windham. The bus service was planned to run directly through Harrison, Bridgton, Casco, Gray, Falmouth, Naples, Raymond and Windham.

The proposal was for weekday service of six one-way trips between Harrison and Portland via Gray and the Maine Turnpike.

Established in 1969, the Greater Portland Council of Governments serves and advises 25 southern Maine cities and towns regarding planning, land use, transporatation and shared services.

The idea of creating bus service resembling the ZOOM bus service that runs between Biddeford and Portland on a two-year trial basis was first discussed last fall. Had residents in area towns approved the spending to fund some of the costs, service might have begun this fall.

Willauer said the council initially estimated the annual operating cost for bus service to be more than $172,000, but with current fuel prices that estimate rose to more than $205,000.

Four towns approved money for the service at their town meetings this month. Bridgton approved more than $4,700 for the service, Gray approved more than $6,100, Harrison approved more than $2,000 and Naples approved nearly $3,000. Additionally, the Windham Economic Development Corporation agreed to a more than $13,000 contribution.

“We certainly need more than five towns to make it work,” Willauer said.

The money promised covered almost $29,000 of the $50,000 requested from all 12 towns, $45,000 from the towns directly on the route and $5,000 from the five surrounding towns. Casco, Denmark, Falmouth, New Gloucester, Raymond, Sebago and Standish have yet to allocate money for the bus route.

The $50,000 in municipal contributions was necessary for matching federal grant funds applied for by Metro in Portland. General manager of Metro David Redlefsen said he expects the Maine Department of Transportation to withdraw the grant funds within a week or two.

“It looks like this thing is not going to take off,” Redlefsen said. “Each of these little towns have streamlined budgets. I think it would be difficult for them to take on a new venture.”

Naples Town Manager Derik Goodine was disapointed by the news. “We feel it’s a pretty important service given the price of gasoline now,” Goodine said. “We should be encouraging it to happen.”

“Towns have a hard time convincing local taxpayers,” said Bridgton Town Manager Mitchell Berkowitz, adding that the failure of the proposal was a great disappointment. “I don’t think it’s a dead issue,” Berkowitz said. “As energy costs go up and people have a need to get from this point south and back, it may take on a life of its own.”

Executive Director of the Sebago Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce Barbara Clark said the bus service could have had positive impacts on businesses as well as individuals, for example by transporting seasonal workers to Point Sebago Resort. “This should be an important transportation icon for our region,” Clark said. “I think it’s a shame.”

Some Lakes residents are seeking alternatives to commuting to work by themselves. Go Maine is a state database operated by the Greater Portland Council of Governments for commuters to find carpool and vanpool matches. Currently there are 264 Lakes Region residents in the database who are either looking for carpool partners or already actively carpooling to work.

In Raymond, Town Manager Donald Willard said the town did not put the item on the town meeting warrant because of uncertainty over what other towns were doing, what it would cost Raymond and the viability of the project.

Town Manager Dave Morton in Casco brought up similar concerns. “If it looked like other communities were going ahead, Casco might,” Morton said.

Willauer said his job was to identify what the project would cost and how it could be funded. “The next step is either to fund it or not,” Willauer said, adding that this decision is up to the towns.

“We’re sort of at a crossroads,” Willauer said. “We’ve done this assessment and now the towns collectively need to make a decision.”