Local transit buses line up at the Saco train station on Thursday. LIZ GOTTHELF/Journal Tribune
BIDDEFORD — ShuttleBus-ZOOM officials said they are responding to feedback from bus riders and are working out kinks in new bus routes.
ShuttleBus-ZOOM provides daily bus service between Biddeford, Saco, Old Orchard Beach, Scarborough, and Portland, and has an annual ridership of about 355,000.
On Aug. 1, the bus service rolled out a new local bus system called The Pulse, using the Saco train station as a central hub, with all bus routes originating and ending at this location.
After the system was introduced, there were some complaints, including from those who said that because they now had to transfer at the train station instead of taking a direct route to their destination, their trips on the bus were taking much longer.
“We received very thoughtful comments from our customers, and we acted on them as soon as possible,” said Craig Pendleton, Director of External Affairs for Biddeford Saco Old Orchard Beach Transit.
Pendleton said the bus service has a core group of long-time riders from Old Orchard Beach who work in Portland. Those going from Old Orchard Beach to Portland were having to travel south to the train station before transferring to a new line to go north to Portland.
“It added two hours a day to their ride. We recognized that was a problem, but we had to take some time to figure out which was the best way to fix it,” said Pendleton.
To fix this issue, ShuttleBus-ZOOM has rerouted the Portland line so that it can pick up and drop off riders at the Rite Aid on Saco Avenue in Old Orchard Beach.
Other changes that have been made included changing a route through Old Orchard Beach to eliminate travel on the more rural Ross Road, which lacked customers and where drivers didn’t feel safe driving a bus at night, said Pendleton.
“We are trying to educate riders on how to use different stops so they don’t have to ride as long but clearly it is a situation we are evaluating,” said Pendleton.
Robert Stalwart, a long-time rider from Biddeford, said he’s happy with the new Pulse system. Stalwart said the new system is broadening service and bringing more opportunity for people without transportation who live in or want to go to other parts of the city. He said some people may complain about transferring buses at the train station instead of continuing on the same bus because it’s something they’re not used to, and its a change from the prior system that was in place for many years.
Ted Walogorsky is a Saco resident who has been using the local buses as his main form of transportation for more than 20 years. While Walogorsky has nothing but praise for the “wonderful” drivers, he is unhappy with the new bus routing system.
“It’s changed and not for the better,” said Walogorsky.
Walogorsky said the new route has added more time when riding through Old Orchard Beach, and he said while he used to be able to count on the buses being on time, he’s seen buses run 10 minutes early – enough for someone to miss their ride.
Walogorsky is also upset that the bus isn’t going down Water Street in Saco, a one-way street that connects Main and Elm Streets where many seniors and low-inome renters live.
Elmer Berry, an Old Orchard Beach resident who estimates he’s been a bus patron for about 24 years said, including time spent waiting for a transfer at the train station, it took him an hour and 45 minutes to get home from his volunteer job at Southern Maine Health Care in Biddeford.
“Before it only took an hour, but now it takes much longer,” said Berry.
Pendleton said bus officials considered adding Water Street to the Saco bus line, but there were difficulties with delivery trucks on the street and the turn onto Elm Street was dangerous. To accommodate this, a stop at 190 Main St., near the intersection of Water Street will be added, said Pendleton.
ShuttleBus officials are also working to educate users to try to use different stops so that it doesn’t take as long to get from Old Orchard Beach to Biddeford, but are also evaluating this route, he said.
“We are still very interested in customer feedback,” said Pendleton.
ShuttleBus staff will soon have office space at the Saco train station and will be on site during the week to be more accessible to riders. Bus official are also working on a new system so that rider can track where buses are on their phones or on a screen at the train station.
— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be reached at 780-9015 or by email at egotthelf@journaltribune.com.
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