Downeast Community Partners, a service agency covering Hancock and Washington counties, will end its long-running rural transportation program by the end of the month due to declining volunteer numbers and financial challenges.
For decades, volunteer drivers had provided people with affordable transportation, driving more than 2 million miles in some years.
“DCP Transportation has been a lifeline for older adults, veterans, individuals with disabilities, and those without access to reliable transportation,” the organization said in a press release. “The program has enabled access to medical appointments, grocery stores, social services, and more—helping people maintain their independence, dignity, and connection to community.”
But the agency has grappled with financial and operational issues for several years — Downeast Community Partners recently took steps to merge with its Aroostook County counterpart to stabilize its operations — and volunteer driver numbers have dropped sharply since the pandemic.
Another ride provider will make “every feasible effort” to fill the transportation gap, according to the agency.
The program cut is the latest reduction at the agency, which coordinates public services for vulnerable people through federal poverty relief grants and earlier this year gave up operation of its Head Start early childhood program. Other rural transportation programs across the state are also facing similar challenges, Downeast Community Partners said Friday.
The agency said the number of volunteer drivers declined from 70 at its peak in the early 2000s to just two this year, a major contributing factor to the decision to end the program.
In 2018, it provided 72,390 rides. Last month, it ran 861.
Commitment from staff and volunteers kept the program alive far longer than circumstances might have allowed, the agency said.
Downeast Community Partners, the Aroostook agency and neighboring Waldo County Community Action Partners explored “every viable option” to keep the program running, including fiscal projections and evaluation of operating models.
“Ultimately, it was determined that continuing the program would pose an unacceptable financial risk,” Downeast Community Partners said in a press release. “[T]he transportation program could not continue without jeopardizing the stability of other essential services.”
Transportation for nonemergency medical care, which made up most of the agency’s rides, was the most challenging to fill and sometimes had to be provided by other ride services.
One of those was RideSource, a company headquartered in Norway, Maine, that will try to absorb Downeast Community Partners’ riders and its volunteer drivers.
