With a boost from the Maine Department of Transportation, a local transit service is now connecting people in northern Maine with jobs.
The Presque Isle-based Aroostook Regional Transportation System launched a pilot Workforce Connector program under a DOT grant. Now, it wants to secure funding to keep the buses rolling.
Hopping a ride to work may be comparatively easy in Bangor, which offers its Community Connector service. But in Aroostook and other rural areas of Maine, where multiple communities are often scattered miles from the nearest hub, public transportation options are few to nonexistent. For those without transportation, it can mean relying on others or being unable to get to work at all.
And that in turn affects chronically short-staffed employers, said Aroostook Regional Transportation Mobility Manager Lisa Smith.
“We tried to find the right model — how can we utilize our transportation resources to get those people to work, because that was a huge reason why employers were not able to get staffing,” Smith said.
Maine’s midcoast area struggles with some of the same challenges. It, too, is a rural region where many people don’t drive and employers clamor for workers. Bath Iron Works and Western Maine Transportation kicked off a worker bus service last July, which several agencies are trying to expand.
The Aroostook Workforce Connector idea started at a local transportation meeting, Smith said. Founded in 1979, Aroostook Regional operates general and specialized ride services throughout northern Maine, including a Saturday run in Presque Isle called the Star City Connector.
Staff had the expertise to start a ride-to-work effort, but needed money, she said. The DOT kicked in a grant from American Rescue Plan Act funds and covered most of the $402,000 program cost. The system matched 20 percent of that.
The agency bought two vans and hired two drivers, and rolled the program out for the first time last November. The plan was to collect riders at bus stops in Caribou, Presque Isle and Fort Fairfield going to large companies, such as Huber Engineered Wood and McCain Foods, both in Easton.
But it tanked. No one rode. Staff realized why: people couldn’t get to the bus stops, and those working at other sites were excluded.
So, ARTS regrouped. Several weeks later, they launched a new plan: door-to-door service at people’s homes, to and from any local workplace.
The result was an overflow of riders that now keeps both buses hustling from about 5 a.m. until 9 p.m. Since the program pivoted, the buses have traveled 16,136 miles, Smith said. As of Thursday, drivers have made 4,357 trips, serving 97 passengers and 72 employers.
The change made all the difference, ARTS Executive Director Cyr Martin said. Many County residents either don’t drive or don’t have the means to buy or repair vehicles, which sometimes leaves those who live in remote communities stranded.
“I think that’s why it’s working, because we’re going out to those remote places, picking them up — those who don’t have a ride, don’t have cars — and we’re dropping them off at no charge,” he said. “They’re able to get out and work, when before they might not have been able to.”
The Walmart in Presque Isle has hired so many new workers who use the ride service that it actually changed shift hours to accommodate the buses’ 9 p.m. end time, he said.
And yes, riding on the Workforce Connector is free — for now. When the grant runs out next February, ARTS will have to find a way to maintain the service. That could include charging a small fee or even getting employers to contribute, Martin said.
State DOT officials have been astounded by the program’s success and are helping the local system seek funds to continue the service, he said.
Larry Evens of Presque Isle and Aaron Saucier of Caribou drive the buses. The revamped door-to-door service caught on like wildfire, they said.
“If you ask me, it’s a necessity,” Evens said. “A lot of people have told us it’s a very good thing. Some just can’t afford a vehicle, some don’t have licenses and some have car problems. It would be terrible to have it go away.”
Safety and getting people to work on time are the highest priorities, Saucier said. Before they started driving, he and Evens completed training in first aid, CPR and defensive driving.
He’d like to see the Monday-Friday service grow.
“I know the need is here in Presque Isle, but I’m sure it’s needed in other places, too,” he said. “I would like to see it expand to other parts of The County. If we had more funding, we could hire more drivers.”
On her way to work at Ferris BBQ, Hadley McLean said she enjoys the drivers. She’s been riding the bus for a couple of months and appreciates its reliability. Though she has a scooter, its battery isn’t always working.
“It’s good to have this. I like getting to work a little early and they always get me there,” she said.
Pete Lento is the human resource manager at Pineland Farms Potato Company/Michael Foods in Mars Hill, which has seen direct effects from the bus service.
One employee was showing up late to work or not at all because he had no transportation, Lento said. That left staff scrambling, but because he now has reliable transportation, the employee gets to work on time each day.
Pineland donated to support the connector, Smith said.
Riders are overwhelmingly grateful for the service, Smith said. Having a reliable ride has helped many find and keep jobs. Others have used the service while temporarily sidelined by medical issues, and some have even bought vehicles with the money they’ve saved from the free rides.
One person who had experienced homelessness and had a 2-year-old child found a job because they now had a ride, Smith said. The job became permanent and the family is no longer homeless.
The transportation agency is now exploring funding to keep the connector on the road.
Riders have said they’d be willing to pay for the service, she said, and that just may be part of the plan.
Another $60,000 in funding would continue the service for another year, with passengers paying a small fee, she said. With additional funding they could reduce fares and potentially expand services.
That would make the drivers happy. Along with the obvious benefits for workers and employers, there’s another upside: human interaction. They and the passengers become a sort of extended family, Evens said.
Especially after a rough day, Saucier finds most people appreciate some positive chatter.
“I just try and make people’s days better,” he said.
