Waldo County’s community service agency will offer rural public transportation to Hancock and Washington counties.
That after the struggling Downeast Community Partners announced in September that it was shedding its own public transportation program amid a shortage of volunteers and ongoing financial challenges.
Waldo Community Action Partners already provides public transportation service to Waldo, Knox, Lincoln and Sagadahoc counties through its MidCoast Public Transportation.
Beginning Oct. 21, it will extend that service to the users of Downeast Community Partners’ service and others across both counties who lack reliable transportation.
Downeast Community Partners, which formed in 2017 out of a merger between Child and Family Opportunities and the Washington Hancock Community Agency, has spent years trying to stabilize its finances. That culminated in July in the organization firing its CEO and moving to merge with its Aroostook counterpart, to which it already relinquished its Head Start program.
The closure of Downeast Community Partners’ public transportation program has left few other options for residents who lack access to reliable transportation.
Anyone who wants to learn more about the service Waldo Community Action Partners can call 207-664-0012 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday. The organization plans to reach out to those who had been using Downeast Community Partners’ service, but others can reach out to make arrangements.
The Maine Department of Transportation is supporting Waldo Community Action Partners in this effort.
