BANGOR, Maine — The Community Connector bus service that runs throughout the Bangor area will no longer run on Saturdays beginning Oct. 5 due to staffing shortages.
Laurie Linscott, bus superintendent for Community Connector, says that the choice was difficult to make.
"We've looked for solutions," she said. "We are still looking for solutions for how to get staffing to the right number."
Saturdays see roughly 1,000 riders a day—less than half the 2,500 riders on a typical weekday. With the option to remove a route or remove a day, Saturday buses were the first to go.
At their current staffing levels, Linscott estimates she will need at least five more commercially certified drivers to comfortably bring back Saturday services. But she says obtaining a CDL is not easy.
"You have to do a class now and you have to range and road. Which is not offered in a lot of places around here," she said. "So, it's not something that you can get overnight. It takes months to get your CDL license."
In the meantime, many riders say they will miss Saturday bussing.
The bus has been Mike Woods' primary means of transportation and he hopes to start a new job soon. If he is asked to work on a Saturday, he says he will walk.
"There's just no way. I can't afford a cab or anything like that," he said. "I don't know what people are going to do."
Matt Rausch shift at the Walmart in Bangor begins at 7 a.m. on Saturdays. He does not know how he will make it to work.
"It's going to hurt me," he said. "If I can't make it to work on time."
