AUBURN — Western Maine Transportation Services has announced that ts pilot Monday-Friday GreenLine commuter bus service between Farmington and Lewiston~Auburn is in full operation.
The schedule for the new public route accommodates employers, employees, students and individuals traveling to health care appointments, shopping, personal and professional services, and daytime entertainment opportunities, in both directions.
The GreenLine is billed as a “pilot” route as it is expected to evolve quickly to meet riders’ needs, WMTS said in a news release.
The GreenLine bus makes four round trips between Farmington and Lewiston-Auburn, Monday through Friday, departing Farmington with two morning runs, an afternoon and an evening run. The bus begins its turn-around runs from Central Maine Community College then travels to the Auburn Mall/TD Bank Contact Center, Great Falls and Oak Street Bus Stations, but does not stop at those locations northbound.
Fares are $3 within either Franklin or Androscoggin Counties, or $5 between counties each way. The exception is a $3 local fare between Jay and Livermore Falls.
The GreenLine bus offers free onboard Wi-Fi, a bike rack in season, and will take credit, debit and WMTS SmartCommute cards, as well as Apple, Samsung and Android Pay mobile apps for payment. Exact change is also accepted.
Once in Lewiston-Auburn GreenLine riders can connect to the Citylink bus system to get them to their final destinations, to the Lisbon Connection to reach Lisbon and Lisbon Falls, or to Concord Coach or Greyhound for inter-city service.
If the GreenLine and citylink are unable to get riders to their destinations in Lewiston or Auburn, riders are encouraged to call WMTS to learn if transportation can be provided by other means.
Details about fares, the schedule and connections are available at www.wmtsbus.org, or riders may wish to call and speak with a WMTS customer service team member about the new commuter route, including connections to Rumford/Mexico/Dixfield, and other WMTS-operated public transportation. Call at 800-393-9335 selection 1, any time non-holiday Mondays through Fridays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The GreenLine is the first route in the WMTS fleet to display the new Western Maine Transportation Services’ stylized “WM” logo and a Mountains-to-Sea lower side wrap. The logo will, eventually, be on all of WMTS’s buses as it modernizes its services and identity.
The Farmington-Lewiston~Auburn commuter service was identified as one of the two most needed and desired routes in the WMTS 2017 Transit Feasibility Study.
An official kick-off event for the GreenLine will be scheduled in May. WMTS would like to recognize and thank MaineDOT for its support and assistance in making this new service possible.
