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December 20, 2022

Ticket to ride: Portland, southern Maine transit using $8M to boost ridership 

3 buses parking lot building COURTESY / GREATER PORTLAND TRANSIT DISTRICT Reduced fares and service upgrades are among improvements planned for Greater Portland Transit District lines with an $8 million investment of federal funds.
By Laurie Schreiber

An investment of more than $8 million in southern Maine’s public transportation network is expected to boost ridership by making transit more frequent, more reliable and more convenient to use.  

"These projects are vital to rebuilding public transportation ridership after the impact of the pandemic," Belinda Ray, director of strategic partnerships at the Greater Portland Council of Governments, said in a news release.

The investments will be made by the following Southern Maine's transit agencies:  

  • $2.9 million for service improvements for METRO, including increased frequency of service on Route 7, Route 9 and the BREEZ; extending hours of service on Route 7, Route 8 and Route 9; increasing service along Congress Street to the Portland Transportation Center; extending the Husky Line service to Ocean Gateway and introducing microtransit service in Falmouth.  
  • $1.1 million to half the fares for Biddeford Saco Old Orchard Beach Transit, METRO and South Portland Bus Service for a promotional period in 2023. Reduced fares have been enacted by transit agencies across the country to provide financial relief for lower-income frontline workers who have relied on their services throughout the pandemic.
  • $882,000 to add another bus to the Southern Maine Connector route, which provides service between Sanford, Alfred, Lyman, Biddeford and Saco. The additional bus will increase bus service from every two hours to every hour. 
  • $750,000 to improve accessibility at bus stops across the region. 
  • $600,000 for Biddeford Saco Old Orchard Beach Transit service improvements, including increased frequency of bus service on the Route 1 and Route 111 corridors in Biddeford. 
  • $500,000 to purchase traffic signal priority equipment and software for 44 buses and 23 intersections along Portland's Forest Avenue and Washington Avenue corridors. This investment will allow METRO's Route 9 and Route 2 buses to move faster on these corridors.   
  • $380,000 to develop a seamless passenger information system for the South Portland Bus Service, Biddeford Saco Old Orchard Beach Transit, Casco Bay Lines and York County Community Action Corp. The system will include digital signs at key locations, a real-time map for websites and a system for sending service alerts to passengers.  
  • $1 million for Casco Bay Lines and the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority to include discounted Downeaster fare promotions, improved wayfinding signage at Downeaster stations and recovering operational losses Casco Bay Lines saw due to the pandemic. 

The money comes from the Greater Portland region's allocation of the American Rescue Plan Act funding for public transportation. Regional officials approved the spending plan last March, but four public transportation agencies raised concerns about the decision-making process. A task force was formed to address those concerns and the task force’s recommendations were adopted by regional officials last week. 

Transit agencies will be working over the coming months to get the projects up and running. Riders should begin to see improvements beginning in 2023. 

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