FARMINGTON – A new bus line provided by Western Maine Transportation Services will now help get customers from Farmington to Auburn, with multiple stops along the way.
The “GreenLine” will run Monday through Friday with four roundtrip routes each day.
The commuter service was established based on the results of a survey done in 2017 addressing the most needed and desired routes. WMTS General Manager Sandy Buchanan said there were two routes that were identified as the most needed and wanted based on the survey: Route 4 from Farmington to Auburn and a route between Lewiston and Brunswick. Buchanan said the recent closing of Barclays in Wilton brought them to choosing the Route 4 option.
“Being from rural Maine, I know that when you lose a big employer it has a big effect on the surrounding community,” Buchanan said at a small opening ceremony on Wednesday.
The new line will offer transportation to those seeking new jobs, she said, as well as others who may need to get to health appointments, higher education, job training or for tourism purposes.
“We are very anxious to bring as much value to the residents of Franklin County as we can,” Community Relation Director Craig Zurhorst said.
While WMTS will still offer discounted and free rides to those who are in need, fares will be $3 within either Franklin or Androscoggin Counties, or $5 between counties, each way. The GreenLine bus will offer free on-board Wi-Fi, a bike rack in-season, and will take credit, debit and WMTS SmartCommute cards, as well as Apple, Samsung and Android Pay mobile apps for payment. Exact change is also accepted.
This is the first time in more than 50 years that a regular bus route has been established along Route 4, and Buchanan reported that within three years the bus is projected to make 20,000 trips per year.
“We’re looking forward to helping Mainers get to where they’re going,” Maine Department of Labor Commissioner Laura Fortman said to the crowd.
A detailed list of pick up and drop off locations can be found by clicking here.
Where can we find more detailed information, such as schedule times and location of bus stops?
Where would one get on the bus in Farmington?
http://www.wmtsbus.org/
How about a Farmington to Waterville run, it’s 10 miles shorter than Farmington to Lewiston. or a link up with KVCAP.
Thank you, Mort!
Finally, some public transportation from here to there!
OR GO BACK TO THE ARTICLE AND CLICK ON here
This is a much needed service for many and an opportunity allowing connections with providers in the Great Falls area to go to Portland and beyond if needed. Thank you for making a difference for so many in our area
Think it’s a shame the county voted to not extend any funding for this program. It’s a great resource to develop to get Franklin residents to potential : jobs, medical care, educational/training resources, cultural events and vice versa, get some L/A residents venturing up here as well.
I think Franklin County has “forgotten” how much more mobile it was in years gone by. In 1909 when my great grandparents moved here…they could get on a train in Wilton and travel all over the state and USA for work and education opportunities…and they did. My great grandmother used the rails to travel all over Maine for assignments as a teacher in one room schools. She joined a program to train teachers for Maine, had hopped a train to Boston to receive the teacher training. Later, their daughter, my grandmother, would hop a train to FL to work for a season saving money to get a college education. Various family members hopped trains and buses to accept jobs all over the country—could hop a train or bus right home again to visit.
Inexpensive transportation resources from rural counties to centers of commerce has always been important to keeping the money flowing to rural residents…. so they can stay here, not be forced to move away.