Gorham Town Councilor Seven Siegel said the Husky Bus is great for the town. Robert Lowell / American Journal

Gorham hopes to raise community awareness of the availability of riding the Husky Bus. “Public transit is a great deal for the town,” Town Councilor Seven Siegel said in a recent interview at a Gorham bus stop.

Greater Portland Metro’s Husky Bus to Gorham was initially instituted to shuttle University of Southern Maine students and staff between its Gorham and Portland campuses. In a pilot program for Gorham, Metro opened up the service in 2018 to public ridership, costing the town $35,000 annually, and the service continued during the pandemic.

To keep public ridership available, the town voted in March to join the Metro system that serves eight communities. Gorham now pays $127,356 annually to  Metro, Siegel said; as part of the deal, Siegel and Community Development Director Tom Poirier received town seats on the Metro board of directors.

According to Siegel, 49,447 riders from November 2023 to October 2024 boarded Husky buses in Gorham, with 33,496 boarding on campus, representing 67.7% of the line’s total ridership. That means 15,951 non-USM campus fares originated in Gorham, equaling about 43.7 riders per day.

Town Councilor Phil Gagnon said Tuesday in a regular council meeting, the “more ridership, the less cost to the town. I want to make sure everyone knows that they can use it.”

Town Council Chair Suzanne Phillips said Wednesday that the board, on Tuesday, directed town staff to develop a plan aimed at increasing ridership and forward it to the Capital Improvements Committee. One problem in the sprawling town is the lack of dedicated village parking for bus riders.

Public riders can board at a stop on Main Street in the village, near Hannaford, or at another stop at Main and Libby Avenue, in addition to the USM campus.

A Husky Bus passes the Village Mall in Gorham. File photo

James Brown, of Portland, a frequent Husky Bus rider, hopes to land an apartment at Avesta’s Ridgewood, a development for seniors on School Street in Gorham. Brown regularly visits a friend in Gorham and boarded the bus recently at the Main Street stop.

“I depend on it (Husky Bus),” he said, pointing out that it’s the only bus line serving Gorham.

With only two public bus stops in Gorham, Siegel said in Tuesday’s Town Council meeting,  most people won’t walk more than five minutes to take a bus. Siegel advocates placing bus stops near housing.

Taleisha Hale, of School Street, is one who does walk several minutes to the Main Street stop and appreciates the Husky Bus. “It’s a real convenience,” she said.

The Husky Bus is now a basic express run from Gorham to Portland’s Ocean Gateway on the waterfront. The route has two stops in Westbrook and one at Elm and Congress streets in Portland, in addition to the Portland campus.

Fares are $2 with a $1 reduced fare with a valid ID for the disabled, veterans, seniors over age 65, youth under 18, and Medicare card holders.

Siegel said bus ridership gets cars off the roads and pointed out Gorham road maintenance added up to more than $1 million this year.