Acadia’s free Island Explorer shuttle carries 10 millionth passenger

Photo / Courtesy Evie Linantud/Friends of Acadia The Island Explorer’s 10 millionth passenger, Beth Gearhart, was greeted at the Bar Harbor Village Green by representatives of Friends of Acadia, Acadia National Park, Downeast Transportation, Maine Department of Transportation and L.L.Bean.

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By Laurie Schreiber

On Wednesday, the fare-free shuttle bus system that serves Acadia National Park and surrounding communities carried its 10 millionth passenger — a milestone in the service’s 25-year history.

The Island Explorer picked up passenger Beth Gearhart at a popular spot called Sand Beach. Informed that she was the 10 millionth passenger, she was greeted at the Bar Harbor Village Green — a central hub for a number of routes — by representatives of Friends of Acadia, Acadia National Park, Downeast Transportation, Maine Department of Transportation and L.L.Bean.

Gearhart told the gathering that she rode the bus from her hotel to the Village Green, connecting onward to Sand Beach, where she hiked trails and a road called Ocean Drive. Hailing from Chambersburg, Pa., it was her first trip to Acadia. She was presented with gifts from L.L.Bean and Friends of Acadia.

“The Island Explorer is key to helping visitors access hiking trails, carriage roads and other popular destinations in Acadia National Park without the worry of having to deal with parking congestion,” said Acadia’s superintendent, Kevin Schneider, who was unable to join Deputy Superintendent Brandon Bies and Management Assistant John Kelly at the event, but provided separate remarks.

The Island Explorer service reduces traffic congestion in the park as well as carbon emissions, Lisa Horsch Clark, vice president of development and donor relations for Friends of Acadia, noted in her remarks.

Earlier this year, the Maine Department of Transportation was awarded a $23.5 million grant by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity, or RAISE, program to fund the acquisition of 23 electric buses and charging infrastructure for the transit service, with 21 propane-fueled buses to be replaced with electric buses, and two electric buses to be purchased to expand the fleet.

It’s expected that getting all of the electric buses in place will take the better part of three years.

Connecting visitors to the park

Initiated in 1999, the Island Explorer carries passengers through Acadia and the surrounding gateway communities on Mount Desert Island and the Schoodic Peninsula.

Since its inception, it is estimated that the bus system has eliminated more than 3.6 million private vehicle trips in the park and prevented the release over 33,000 tons of greenhouse gases and 51 tons of smog-causing pollutants, according to a news release.

The Explorer picks up passengers at hotels and campgrounds throughout the communities surrounding the park and connects them to routes that travel to park destinations.

Downeast Transportation, a nonprofit organization that operates the system, has 90 bus drivers and employees who help visitors find their way.

The system is supported by partners that include the National Park Service, which contributes a portion of every weekly and annual Acadia entrance pass to the bus system.

The transit system also receives support from the U.S. and Maine Departments of Transportation, municipalities surrounding the park and area businesses. Passengers have the option of leaving an on-board donation, which generates around $50,000 annually for the Explorer.

L.L.Bean and FOA have been long-time partners in funding Island Explorer operations and in encouraging visitors to be good stewards of the park through messaging on the buses. Since 2002, L.L.Bean’s contributions and pledges to the bus system have totaled $5.5 million.

The Island Explorer runs 12 routes through Acadia and surrounding communities.

Economic driver

The milestone came as Acadia tourism remains a significant economic driver for the region.

A National Park Service report shows that 3.88 million visitors to Acadia in 2023 spent $475 million in communities near the park. The spending supported 6,600 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $685 million.

Nationwide, the report found that 325.5 million visitors spent $26.4 billion in communities near national parks. The spending supported 415,400 jobs, provided $19.4 billion in labor income and $55.6 in economic output to the U.S. economy.

The lodging sector had the highest direct contributions with $9.9 billion in economic output and 89,200 jobs. Restaurants received the next greatest direct contributions with $5.2 billion in economic output and 68,600 jobs.

Amid the pandemic, in 2021, Acadia hosted more than 4 million visitors. The numbers have remained near that mark, with 3.97 million visitors in 2022 and 3.88 million in 2023, according to National Park Service statistics.

And year-to-date data shows the numbers are on an uptick for 2024, with 3,279,087 visitors recorded so far this year, compared with 2,613,461 in the same timeframe last year.