For Carson Lynch, a bus running from Portland to Gorham would not only be good for his business in the Gorham Village, it would be a convenient way to commute to work.
“I would love to save the gas. I’d be delighted,” said Lynch, the owner of the Gorham Grind coffee shop and a Portland resident.
Residents like Lynch might have such a service as early as next fall if Rep. Chris Barstow, D-Gorham, is successfull at getting other legislators to support the $250,000 cost of gettting the service started. Under Barstow’s proposal, residents would pay a fare to ride chartered buses that now carry students at the University of Southern Maine between campuses in Gorham and Portland.
If the Legislature earmarks the money, Barstow believes the service could be launched in September. “There’s no reason we can’t move swiftly on this,” he said.
University students would continue to ride on passes, which are covered by a student transportation fee. Fare boxes would be installed on buses for other riders.
“We’re exploring ways to link our bus service with Chris Barstow’s proposal,” university spokesman Bob Caswell said this week.
David Willauer, planning director for Greater Portland Council of Governments, met before Christmas with university officials about the proposal. Now, Willauer is waiting for approval from Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation Committee to begin studying the plan. That committee works to improve the coordination of transportation planning and investment decisions by state, municipalities and public transportation organizations. The committee’s area includes Gorham and Portland.
Willauer said the study would cost $11,000, with the federal government picking up 80 percent of the tab. The university and V.I.P. Tour & Charter Bus Co. of Portland, which has a $400,000 contract with the university, have each agreed to pay 10 percent of study costs. Caswell said the proposal couldn’t increase costs of student transportation for the university.
Willauer said an advisory committee would convene by the end of January and meet once monthly until June. Willauer said a university student at the Muskie School of Public Service would lend a hand with research. Willauer has also talked with Gorham Town Manager David Cole for his thoughts of how to select a committee representative from Gorham.
The state money Barstow hopes to get would be used for one-time administrative start-up costs and for a new bus to expand the existing schedule. Caswell said buses running the route now are “pretty well packed.”
“USM buses are on a tight schedule because of classes,” Caswell said.
The service
Buses chartered by the university now leave Bailey Hall on the Gorham campus and the Woodbury Campus Center on Bedford Street in Portland every 45 minutes, beginning at 7:15 a.m. Monday through Friday. A mini bus with several departure times on Saturdays also stops at the Maine Mall in South Portland.
The last bus leaves Gorham at 9:35 p.m.
The service is popular. A bus driver, Phil Hague, said a 9:30 run Tuesday morning filled two buses.
Gorham’s notorious rush-hour traffic snarl takes a toll on the schedule. “It slows you down about 10 minutes,” said Hague, citing the heavy traffic that converges on the overlay of routes 22 and 114 in South Gorham.
But university freshman Nick San Martino, who waited out of the cold on a bench inside Bailey Hall Tuesday, said buses are usually on time or early. He lives in a dorm on the Gorham campus, where he has only one class.
San Martino depends on the buses to get him to Portland, and he catches up on his sleep during the commute. “I have a nap on it every day,” San Martino said.
Jeremy Greene, owner of the Art Guru in Gorham’s Village Mall, thought he would ride the bus. “I’m all for public transit,” said Greene, who lives on State Street in the heart of downtown Gorham traffic congestion.
Greene said he thought public buses would help village businesses ring up more sales. He said some potential customers from Portland either don’t own cars or don’t go to Gorham because of traffic snarls on the roads.
“Parking and traffic go hand in hand,” Greene said. “There’s so much traffic that goes by here, it hurts business.”
Lynch, the owner of the Gorham Grind, agreed that bus service would help Gorham businesses, tapping into the Portland market. “Bringing a customer base out here would be a big plus,” Lynch said. “It’s a great plan.”
A joint venture would also benefit the university, which would receive an improved schedule under the deal. People from Portland would have transportation to sporting and theater events on the Gorham campus, Lynch said.
Greene feels that bus service would help Portland people discover what Gorham has to offer. “We’ve got a huge cultural center here that enough people don’t take advantage of,” Greene said. “A bus would help.”
Barstow said a search for park-and-ride lots in Gorham and Portland is under way. He said he thought buses would help reduce traffic a bit in Gorham Village.
Gorham Town Councilor Shonn Moulton agreed.
“I think you would see a reduction in traffic,” Moulton said.
At least one rider has already taken advantage of the university’s bus service. Greene said a friend, pretending to be a student, regularly rode the bus until getting caught.
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