The shuttle will run on days when over 2,500 cruise ship passengers are in Portland. Contributed / Photo by Visit Portland

On Sept. 13, Visit Portland announced a new City Loop Shuttle aimed at cruise ship passengers. The new shuttle service is part of the PortShare Promise program created last year in a collaboration between Visit Portland, Cruise Maine, Cruise Portland Maine and the Maine Office of Tourism. Visit Portland, a nonprofit destination marketing organization, piloted the program since last fall and it is now fully operational.

The City Loop Shuttle route will have 10 stops between the Eastern Promenade and the Arts District, expanding the region of the city that cruise tourists can access from their starting point of Ocean Gateway. Portland-based transportation company VIP Tour and Charter Bus Co. will run the shuttles.

A day pass for the City Loop Shuttle will cost $15 and allows a customer to get on and off the shuttle throughout the day at any of its 10 stops.  The shuttle schedule will change with the number of cruise ship passengers in the city, the weather and city traffic. On days when there are more than 2,500 cruise ship passengers in Portland, the shuttle is expected to run between 8 a.m.—4 p.m, said the Visit Portland press release.

“We really want to make sure that we’re balancing visitation and our community, the residents, the business community, the working waterfront, so everybody is working simultaneously together,” said President and CEO of Visit Portland Lynn Tillotson.

According to Visit Portland, 110 ships brought 157,775 passengers to Portland in 2023, generating over $13 million in economic impact in the Greater Portland area. That number is expected to increase to 153 ships and over 204,000 passengers and $19 million in economic impact in 2024. The City Loop Shuttle will increase foot traffic to local businesses and better manage pedestrian traffic on the waterfront, said Tillotson in the press release.

“We were really trying to not only make people aware of the shuttle, but really the mission behind the shuttle, the message. It’s really making sure that people understand that although we’re a marketing organization, we want visitors to come in here and  vacation in the Portland area, it’s also really important for us to manage visitation,” said Tillotson.

Portshare Promise was created in the fall of 2023 to address tourism congestion and the flow of traffic when cruise ships stop in Portland. In addition to providing tourist services such as the City Loop Shuttle, the program offers a feedback form for visitors, residents and business owners to share their concerns about cruise tourism in Portland. Tillotson said that responses on the form indicated that both tourists and business owners were pleased with the pilot program of the City Loop Shuttle.

“We really want to hear from visitors. We want to hear from the residents. We want to hear from local businesses. What’s working? What are their pain points? What what are they happy with? Are they do they have any suggestions? It’s really an opportunity for us to find out what’s happening in the community, for us to continue to make this program better,” said Tillotson.

“We are excited to be offering this service on behalf of Visit Portland,” said Tom Spina, managing partner of VIP Tour and Charter Bus Co. in the press release. “Our goal is to continue to build upon this program in collaboration with Visit Portland as we continue to see the popularity of it grow, more people buying tickets online, and lots of smiling faces getting on and off the City Loop Shuttle.”