By Adam LaFleur – The Spectator
March 28, 2019
BANGOR, Maine – Improvements to Bangor’s Community Connector bus service are a high priority for City Council in 2019. Councilor Gretchen Schaefer says existing bus routes are outdated and often force riders like Husson students to take time-consuming, roundabout routes to the most popular destinations. A new transit study is slated to begin this week. It will focus on how to make the City’s bus system more convenient, viable, and economically friendly.
“As we look ahead to make Bangor more livable and grow the city, part of it is not adding more parking spaces,” Schaefer said, “especially when we look at the impact of fossil fuels and how we want to lessen our carbon footprint. They are looking at essentially a complete overhaul of the bus system.”
A Husson student and staff member wait for the Community Connector Bus at the campus stop on Husson Avenue.
According to the City of Bangor’s official website, the Community Connector has been in operation since 1972. In addition to Bangor, the bus system also serves the neighboring municipalities of Hampden, Old Town, Orono, Veazie, and Brewer. Buses run Monday through Saturday from 6:15 a.m. until 6:15 p.m. Bangor owns a fleet of 22 buses, all of which are wheelchair accessible. Fares are $1.50 for adults and $0.75 for children. The system also offers riders a monthly pass that may be purchased for $45. Ten routes currently traverse the greater Bangor area.
Examining the economic feasibility of existing routes is a priority of the City’s transit study. Schaefer says Bangor’s bus system operates under a unique financial situation.
“We are the smallest city [in the nation] that is tasked with managing their own bus system under a federal transportation grant. Most cities [that manage their own bus service] are much bigger than ours. We’re right at the [minimal] level where it is subsidized by a federal program and managed by a local one.”
There is no fare for riders with valid student IDs from the University of Maine or Eastern Maine Community College. Husson University students also ride for free, but those who want to take the bus downtown are in a pickle. It would be quicker to walk from campus to the center of the city. Husson’s bus stop is on a route called “mall hopper” which takes riders to the Airport Mall and the Bangor Mall, but not downtown. Schaefer says students who want to board the bus from the Husson campus stop and go downtown have to change buses at one of the mall stops to reach the city center.
“When that [mall hopper] route was established, that probably made great sense,” she said. “At this point there might be a better way for the bus to go from Husson to downtown and connect there. I actually mapped out what it would take for me to get from my home on the west side to Husson by taking the bus, and it would take me almost two hours. I would have to change buses at the Airport Mall. In my car, if I hit the lights right, I don’t hear a complete song on the radio [in the time it takes me to drive from home to Husson].”
Schaefer says the results of the transit study will be released in June. In addition to updated bus routes, the study will assess expanded operation hours, the condition of bus stops and shelters, and what size buses are best for different routes. Bangor’s revitalized bus system may make it easier for Husson students without cars to leave campus and support local businesses.