Travelers in Bangor and Lewiston now have one more way to get around, as the online transportation company Uber has officially launched in both Maine communities Wednesday.
“Our mission is to make transportation as reliable as running water for everyone everywhere,” said Cathy Zhou, general manager of Uber New England, told the Bangor Daily News. “In many of these smaller cities and towns, there’s demand for quick, affordable options.”
The large numbers of college students were a major draw for Uber to expand into both communities, as students looking to easily go downtown for a night out on the town now have easy access to a designated driver, or can now travel to the airport to head home and visit family.
Although Uber already had a few drivers in the Bangor and Lewiston communities before its official launch, the company viewed them as an extension of the company’s popularity in Portland, where the program launched in 2004, and along the coast.
Last summer, the company also experimented with offering service in seaside communities like Bar Harbor, Old Orchard and Kennebunk — major hotspots for tourists taking a much-needed break from the daily grind. Zhou told the BDN that the experiment went well, with a “tremendous amount of demand.”
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