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New Bus Service to Begin Between Lewiston/Auburn and Portland

Susan Sharon
/
MPBN
The new service was unveiled Wednesday at a news conference in Auburn.

AUBURN, Maine - Gov. Paul LePage today joined other state and local officials in Auburn to welcome the announcement of a new regional bus service offered by Concord Coach Lines between Lewiston and Auburn and the city of Portland.

The service is expected to be offered late next year. It will begin at Bates College in Lewiston, stop at two new bus stations in Auburn and then proceed to the Portland Transportation Center, with connections all the way to Boston. A one-way ticket to Boston will cost $50.

"Our best assessment is that somewhere in the 50,000 to 75,000 passengers-a-year range should be what we should be expecting here if we build our service," said Concord Coach Lines President Henry Blunt. "One thing comes with the other. You don't get that kind of ridership without providing a level of service - and what I mean by that is a frequency of service that becomes a viable option for people."

Details are still being worked out, but Blunt says plans call for five to six trips a day between Lewiston/Auburn and Portland.