A METRO BREEZ BUS awaits passengers in downtown Freeport in this June file photo.
With new grant funding a possibility, the Metro Breez service now linking Portland, Yarmouth, Falmouth and Freeport may soon connect to Brunswick.
Tonight, the Brunswick Town Council will hear from Greg Jordan of Portland Metro regarding a possible expansion of service.
The service would be a two-year pilot that would be rolled into the Breez service that expanded into Freeport last spring.
The first- and second-year costs to Brunswick is estimated at $50,000 and $60,000, respectively, and would be dependent on a Maine Department of Transportation approval of a Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grant to fund the request.
Following the two-year pilot, costs to the town would rise as grant money would likely dry up.
If the council agrees to the pilot program, Brunswick would need to appropriate $50,000 for the first year.
Since June, Breez has provided 10 express bus round trips between Freeport, Yarmouth, Falmouth and Portland. Based on the first two months of service, Metro officials estimate the first year’s ridership will reach around 30,000 boardings. Metro likens adding Brunswick to the route to the service expanded from Portland to Biddeford and Saco, which sees some 60,000 annual boardings.
The connection of Brunswick to the route would provide another means of public transportation to Portland, where riders can board a bus or Amtrak rail service to Boston or beyond.
The costs?
• THE FIRST- AND second-year costs to Brunswick is estimated at $50,000 and $60,000, respectively, and would be dependent on a Maine Department of Transportation approval of a Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality grant to fund the request.
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