RUMFORD — To better accommodate area transportation needs, Western Maine Transportation Services on Tuesday launched a new expanded, trial public bus service for the River Valley area.
It will run from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and will continue the weekly Wednesday service between Rumford and Lewiston-Auburn, Craig Zurhorst, WMTS Community Relations director, said Wednesday in Auburn.
“After speaking with members of the medical community and the community at large, and looking at what we believe is going to be happening with social services transportation in the state, we’re looking to create a more sustainable, more flexible, and I guess relevant model for public transportation in our region,” he said.
The new FlexRoute Public Bus Service is being tested in the Rumford and Farmington areas and will also be tried in the Oxford Hills area, Zurhorst said.
“We’re trying out this new concept where we will be running routes and can deviate off them to pick up people at their residences where we have a somewhat reliable schedule,” he said.
The cost per-boarding will be $3 for adults and $1.50 for riders who are disabled, Medicare cardholders, 60 and older, and accompanied children from ages 5 to 11.
The Wednesday public service from Rumford, Mexico and Dixfield to Lewiston-Auburn and back costs $12 for adults; $6 for disabled, Medicare cardholders, 60 and older, and accompanied children ages 5 to 11. Reservations are required.
Zurhorst said WMTS officials have been watching a growing trend for more service for the past year.
“We’ve been anticipating it for a couple of years, and then over the last six months, we’ve been looking at what the state plans were for MaineCare transportation, which will ultimately affect a lot of people, or change it significantly,” he said.
“And we’re looking at ways for us to increase the ability to accommodate public ridership, and we’ve finally got to the point where we go, ‘OK, now let’s do this.’
“So, we’re running these schedules in Rumford and the other areas and we’re going to study them for a while,” Zurhorst said.
During the trial period, he said the service will be monitored and modified to meet the needs of the communities.
“This is all brand new and before we promote it, we want to make sure we’ve got the bugs out and make sure that it’s working the best it can,” he said.
“And we will try to make any modifications to improve it before we promote it, and run it for quite a while to prove that it’s sustainable in ridership numbers and move forward from there,” he said.
The expanded service will incorporate several stops at designated times, while also providing great flexibility to serve riders who need to be picked up and dropped off at other locations, including their homes.
The area served by the bus will center around the route between the River Valley Crossing plaza off Route 2 in Rumford and outer Weld Street in Dixfield. The Peru Town Office at the old Peru School is also included as a pickup and drop off location.
Zurhorst said regular stops will include Rumford Hospital, Hannaford, Rite-Aid, Walmart and all of the senior housing facilities in Rumford, Mexico and Dixfield.
“We’re anticipating that (the rider increase) is going to be fairly robust, but it could take three to six months to get it to that point,” Zurhorst said.
“That’s why we’re doing it now, because we’re anticipating changes when we hear from the state and we know that the people who will no longer have the transportation option, will still need an affordable, reliable and certainly more than weekly need for mobility, and this is what we’re trying to do.”
For more information or to schedule a ride, call 800-393-9335 between 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
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