Greater Portland Metro

Last updated
Greater Portland METRO
Greater Portland Metro Logo, August 2023.svg
Greater Portland Metro 2023.jpg
A METRO bus in 2023
Founded1966(59 years ago) (1966)
Headquarters114 Valley Street, Portland, Maine
Locale Greater Portland, Maine
Service areaPortland, Brunswick, Gorham, Falmouth, Freeport, South Portland, Westbrook and Yarmouth
Service type Bus service, express bus service
Routes11
Hubs
  • METRO Pulse at Elm St. and Congress St. on the Portland Peninsula
  • Westbrook Hub at Mechanic St. in downtown Westbrook
Fleet31
OperatorGreater Portland Transit District
Chief executiveGlenn Fenton (as of July 2024)
Website Greater Portland METRO

The Greater Portland METRO is a regional public transportation system, established in 1966, in Southern Maine. Operated by the Greater Portland Transit District, a transit district comprising Portland, Westbrook, Falmouth, Yarmouth, Freeport, Brunswick, the system also covers downtown Gorham and South Portland. [1]

Contents

METRO is Maine's largest public transportation agency. The transit system's annual ridership was 1,850,686 in 2017. [2]

As of 2016, METRO operated a fleet of eighteen compressed natural gas (CNG) buses and fourteen diesel buses. It operates and maintains the only CNG fuel station in the state of Maine.

History

The ancestor to the METRO, the Portland and Forest Avenue Railroad Co., began operating horse-drawn lines in 1860. They were upgraded to streetcars in 1891, which operated for fifty years before the company switched to buses. The company's new parent, Central Maine Power, sold the buses to Portland Coach Company in 1944.

Concerned about the viability of transit in the region, the Greater Portland Transit District was created in 1966. Three years later it purchased the struggling Portland Coach Company, which became METRO in 1976. Several municipalities serviced by METRO withdrew during an age of contraction; service to Yarmouth and Cape Elizabeth ended in 1978, South Portland withdrew in 1983 (although METRO continues to run select buses to the city), and the Portland School Department began operating its own buses in 1985.

The system began to turnaround in the late 1990s, and in 2004 it expanded to Falmouth, which later joined the Greater Portland Transit District. Portland Public Schools ended yellow school bus transportation for all of Portland's high school students and entered into an agreement with METRO to provide each student with a free unlimited METRO pass starting in 2015. [3] The program has generated 250,000 boardings for the agency while allowing Portland Public Schools greater flexibility with school bell times and repurposing staff and equipment resources to other priorities. Portland charter school Baxter Academy for Technology and Science also offers METRO passes to students. [4]

The METRO BREEZ express service started in June 2016. It serves Portland, Falmouth, Yarmouth, Freeport and Brunswick. Two new lines debuted in August 2018 serving Gorham and adding expanded service to Westbrook. [5] New buses with USB ports and Wi-Fi were introduced around 2020, [6] as were bus shelters. [7]

In October 2024, it was announced that Greater Portland METRO would merge with South Portland Bus Service and incorporate South Portland's Routes 21, 24A, and 24B into METRO, effective December 29th, 2024. The routes in South Portland are most likely going to remain the same, although METRO may suggest improvements over the next few years. All South Portland drivers were taken into employment at METRO. [8] [9]

In 2024, Greater Portland Transit District began using Equans's NAVINEO computer aided dispatch and automatic vehicle location (CAD/AVL), an intelligent transportation system (ITS), and Optibus, which will assist the company in managing detours in real time, adding or removing trips and will support detailed ridership analysis. It will also allow the configuration of automatic voice announcements (AVA). [10]

Routes

Route 8 bus in a pre-2017 livery Bus 8.jpg
Route 8 bus in a pre-2017 livery

METRO operates two hubs: one in downtown Portland, called the METRO Pulse, and one in downtown Westbrook, also known as the Westbrook Hub. Additionally, the Portland Transportation Center, which provides an intercity bus connection and Amtrak service, serves as a major transfer point.

Intercity service from York County, Maine's southernmost county, connects to the METRO system at The Maine Mall and at several stops along Congress Street. [11]

Local routes are numbered 1 through 9, with the 9 split into 9A and 9B. There is currently no route 6. There is one lettered route, the Husky Line (H), which connects the Gorham and Portland campuses of the University of Southern Maine. [12] There is one express route, the BREEZ, which runs between Portland and Brunswick; on signage, it is identified as "B". There is also a new Metro CONNECT route, an on-demand shuttle service to expand service within Falmouth. [13]

Routes 21, 24A and 24B from South Portland Bus Service have been incorporated into METRO as of December 29, 2024, with no planned route changes thus far. The fares of these routes will remain the same as the other METRO routes. [14]

RouteMajor stops (outbound)
1 – Congress Street Portland Transportation Center, Monument Square, Eastern Promenade, North Street, Portland Public Library, St. John Street
2 – Forest Avenue METRO Pulse, Woodfords Corner, Morrills Corner, Hannaford Riverton, Pride's Corner
3 – Westbrook Crosstown The Maine Mall, Target, Westbrook Hub, Westbrook Community Center, Hannaford Riverton
4 – WestbrookMETRO Pulse, Rosemont Corner, Westbrook Crossing, Hannaford, Westbrook Hub, Idexx Laboratories, Hamlet
5 – Maine MallMETRO Pulse, Portland Exposition Building, Westgate, The Maine Mall
7 – Falmouth [15] Portland International Jetport, Congress/Hutchins, Westgate, Maine Medical Center, Monument Square, Washington/Veranda, Walmart, Shaw's

*As of December 29th, this route will no longer service OceanView, Johnson Road, Town Landing Market or Route 88. [16]

8 – Peninsula LoopHannaford Plaza, Congress/Forest, Maine Medical Center, Monument Square, Casco Bay Lines, Franklin Towers, Whole Foods Market, Hannaford Plaza
9A – North Deering via Stevens Avenue City Hall, Westgate, Morrills Corner, Washington/Auburn, Summit/Allen, Allen's Corner, Washington/Veranda, City Hall
9B – North Deering via Washington AvenueMonument Square, Washington/Veranda, Allen's Corner, Summit/Allen, West Falmouth Hannaford, Morrills Corner, Westgate, Monument Square
21 – South Portland (Willard Square-SMCC) [17] Congress Street & Forest Ave, Mill Creek Transit Hub, Ocean & Sawyer Street, Pillsbury & Cottage Road; SMCC; Ferry Village & High Street
24A – South PortlandMill Creek Transit Hub, Redbank Village, Maine Mall, Walmart
24B – South PortlandMill Creek Transit Hub, Highland Community Center, Cash Corner, Redbank Village, Maine Mall, Walmart
H – Husky LineOcean Gateway, USM Portland, Westbrook Hub, USM Gorham
B – BREEZExpress service. Portland Transportation Center, Monument Square, Yarmouth Town Hall, Downtown Freeport/L.L.Bean, Bowdoin College, Brunswick Maine Street Station
METRO Connect, Falmouth [18] A new, on-demand service that will service OceanView, the Falmouth Foreside, the Falmouth Schools and Town Hall, and areas north of the foreside where Route 7 does not cover.

Fares and accessibility

Fares

METRO, along with the Biddeford-Saco-Old Orchard Beach Transit, participates in a regional automated fare collection system known as DiriGo Pass. This system uses the UMO Pass platform developed by Cubic. Monthly, daily, and ten-ride paper passes have been phased out, and are no longer accepted. Instead, passengers load money onto their account and pay fares using a smartcard or the UMO mobile app.

Standard fares are $2 for all local service, and $4 for the BREEZ service. Passengers may transfer for free within 90 minutes if using the mobile app or smartcard. If transferring to the BREEZ, passengers pay the difference in fare. A fare capping system has been implemented, so that after $6 in local fares or $12 in BREEZ express fares are paid in a calendar day, no more fares will be charged to the account. Fares are also capped at $60 in a calendar month for local fares, and $120 for BREEZ fares.

Reduced fare is half of the normal fare, and the monthly and daily caps are half of the standard caps. Reduced fares are applicable for persons with disabilities, anyone over 65, veterans, youth ages 6–18, and Medicare card holders. Cash continues to be accepted; however, no free transfers are available. [19]

Accessibility

METRO buses are equipped with passenger lifts or ramps and contain space for two riders using wheelchairs. Riders with mobility needs can also use the Regional Transportation Program paratransit service. [20]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "South Portland Bus to Merge with Greater Portland Metro". South Portland, ME. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  2. ↑ "Performance Statistics | Greater Portland Transit, ME". gpmetro.org. Retrieved 2018-08-31.
  3. ↑ "Portland high school students to ride METRO buses". Bangor Daily News. 24 August 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  4. ↑ "Youth & School Partnership Programs | Greater Portland Transit, ME". gpmetro.org. Retrieved 2018-08-31.
  5. ↑ "Background & History | Greater Portland Transit, ME". gpmetro.org. Retrieved 2018-08-31.
  6. ↑ "Greater Portland METRO introduces new buses" . Retrieved 2018-08-31.
  7. ↑ "New buses for upcoming new routes in city" - Keep Me Current, May 10, 2018
  8. ↑ "South Portland Bus to Merge with Greater Portland Metro". South Portland, ME. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  9. ↑ "Routes and Schedules | Greater Portland Transit, ME". gpmetro.org. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  10. ↑ "Greater Portland Transit District in Maine launches intelligent transportation system". Mass Transit. 2024-08-06. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  11. ↑ "Inter-city / Portland". Shuttle Bus-Zoom. 2016-10-04. Retrieved 2018-08-31.
  12. ↑ "Husky Line Map and Schedule". Greater Portland Metro. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  13. ↑ "Falmouth testing Metro's first-ever on-demand shuttle service". Press Herald. 2024-12-23. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  14. ↑ "South Portland Bus to Merge with Greater Portland Metro". South Portland, ME. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  15. ↑ Writer, Kelley BouchardStaff (2012-11-06). "Falmouth voters elect to keep Metro bus service". Press Herald. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  16. ↑ "Falmouth testing Metro's first-ever on-demand shuttle service". Press Herald. 2024-12-23. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  17. ↑ "Route 21 - South Portland (Willard Square - SMCC) | Greater Portland Transit, ME". gpmetro.org. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  18. ↑ "METRO Connect Brochure December 2024".
  19. ↑ "Fares | Dirigo Pass". dirigopass.org. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
  20. ↑ "rtprides.org » About RTP". rtprides.org. Retrieved 2018-08-31.
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