FALMOUTH — Town voters will be asked in November to consider ending Metro bus service in Falmouth at the end of 2013.
Town resident Michael Doyle has submitted a successful petition to put the question on the Nov. 6 ballot, Town Clerk Ellen Planer said Monday night.
Doyle collected many more than the estimated 860 signatures – 10 percent of registered voters – needed to get the question before voters, Planer said.
Last November, the Town Council voted 5-2 against a similar proposal to withdraw from the Greater Portland Transit District, which also serves Portland and Westbrook.
The council’s vote followed an emotional public hearing when 22 people urged town leaders to continue funding the Falmouth Flyer and four people spoke against the service.
The Metro will cost Falmouth taxpayers $117,000 in 2012, said Town Manager Nathan Poore.
Ridership on the Falmouth Flyer has increased steadily since it started operating, from fewer than 55,000 passengers in the first 10 months of 2005 to 65,145 passengers in the same period last year, according to the transit district.
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