BANGOR, Maine — It’s been a long wait, but work has begun at the Bangor Area Transportation Center. The 2,200 square foot, single-story building is going up in Pickering Square right in the shadows of the six-story parking garage.
“I am extremely excited,” Bangor bus superintendent Laurie Linscott said.
The ground-breaking and construction start comes after months and months of meetings and hearings to choose a location for the new bus terminal, and that was followed by months of plans and bids to choose a design and construction firm.
“We are looking for completion in about 68 weeks,” Linscott said. “So about December of next year.”
The transportation center will include an indoor waiting area, administrative space, public bathrooms, a bus drivers’ room, and a security office. The exterior will feature covered waiting areas, outdoor seating, lighting, and accessible passenger loading areas, according to a City of Bangor, Maine - City Hall Facebook post.
"I hope transit becomes everybody's friend and that everybody rides the bus. There's no reason why they shouldn't because transit is a great system in Bangor. We go all the way to Old Town, all the way to Hamden, and into Brewer, so I hope the new transit center brings new life to transit and becomes everybody's way to get back and forth to work,” said Linscott, speaking just steps from the tractors and other heavy equipment pounding and beeping away at the Water Street construction site.
The transportation center will regularly be open in time for the first bus departure in the morning at 6:15 a.m. and until the last bus departure for the day at 5:45 p.m.
Linscott said her biggest challenge right now is to get a full staff of bus drivers. She would like a driving team of almost 40 and has just 29.
The pay for those with the proper credentials, which includes an active Class B license with a P endorsement and air brakes, will begin at $18 per hour.
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