Four months into its passenger bus service between Freeport and Portland, Portland Metro will take ideas and questions from the public during a meeting at the Freeport Town Hall, scheduled for 5:30-6:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 17.

Glenn Fenton, chief transportation officer for Portland Metro, said that the company wants to hear from people as to what and what is not needed regarding the service. The Metro Breez offers 10 southbound trips from Freeport and 10 northbound trips from Portland on weekdays, and five each on Saturdays. There is no Sunday bus service at this point. Round-trip fares are $3, $2.70 with a 10-day pass and $1.50 for seniors and people with disabililities.

Fenton said that Portland Metro is conducting similar public meetings in towns on the Metro Breez route – Yarmouth, Falmouth and Portland.

“We’re looking for feedback, and if anything needs to be changed,” he said.

Fenton said that Metro Breez is coming closer to meeting ridership projections of 2,500 per month. The bus had 1,287 passengers in July, but the numbers for September were 2,000.

“We’re happy with that number,” he said. “People are starting to hear about the service. We’re headed in the right direction. We hope to be there in the second year.”

The Breez has a regular in Donna Larson, town planner in Freeport. Larson uses the 10-day pass.

“I hear a lot because I ride it,” Larson said. “I’m a regular rider from downtown Portland to Freeport and back.”

Larson takes the 6:50 a.m. bus out of Monument Square, and leaves from Freeport at 4:20, 5:20 or 6:20 p.m.

“People like it,” she said. “There are some regular riders out there for whom this is their only option. They don’t have a car or they don’t drive for some reason.”

Larson said that while many Metro Breez passengers to Freeport come off the cruise ships in Portland, the regular patrons tend to be workers or students heading to Casco Bay High School in Portland.

Larson said that the morning northbound schedule has gaps, and she would like to see that schedule tightened up. Morning runs fromPortland are at 6, 6:45, 8:20 and 10:20.

“I’ve also heard from people that we need Sunday service,” she said. “I’ve heard from drivers that there is standing-room-only on some Saturdays.”

Larson said she has a car, but can’t seen any sense taking it to and from Freeport when she can take the bus.

“Why wouldn’t I, when you consider wear-and-tear and the cost of a vehicle,” she said. “It’s 45 miles a day.”

This time of year, the bus provides a way for people to get to special events, such as the Freeport Fall Festival on Oct. 1-2.

“The Metro Breez offered attendees of FreeportUSA’s 18th annual Freeport Fall Festival a great alternative way to arrive to the event,” said Kelly Edwards, executive director of FreeportUSA. “As attendance grows with each year, it’s wonderful to offer our guests a transportation option that is safe, clean, inexpensive and drops passengers off right at the event.”

Fenton said that, in order to add Sunday service or fill morning gaps, something would have to give.

“To add a trip, we would have to remove a trip from somewhere else,” he said.

In September 2014, the Freeport Town Council approved spending up to $90,000 for a three-year trial of the Portland Metro service from Freeport to Portland, with stops in Yarmouth and Falmouth. The service was to start up last summer, but alterations to the buses and schedule slowed down the process.

A MetroBreez service map.

The Portland MetroBreez logo.

Portland Metro, which operates the Metro Breez bus service between Freeport and Portland, is seeking public input at a meeting next week.