RUMFORD – The second Thursday of every month Rumford seniors board the bus referred to as “the Queen.” The trip is sponsored by the Rumford Seniors and operated by Western Maine Transportation Services.

The monthly trip leaves Rumford at 8:30 a.m., makes stops at Roak Block Apartments and Barker Mills in Auburn and arrives at the Maine Mall around 10:30.

“The Queen” can accommodate up to 46 passengers. The monthly trip has traditionally taken a summer hiatus, but the trip has become so popular that the Senior Center requested that WMTS offer the trip throughout the year.

The round trip cost is $5. Additional stops are made at the South Portland Wal-Mart and the Christmas Tree Shops. The bus lays over in South Portland for four and a half hours to give plenty of time to shop and eat.

Reservations can be made by calling Sue Gaudet at the Rumford Senior Center, 364-4700, or by the WMTS Mexico Customer Service office, 364-2135 or toll-free 1-800-339-9687. Summer trips are scheduled for June 10, July 8 and Aug. 12.

WMTS provides public transportation throughout the week in the Rumford-Mexico-Dixfield area, including public trips on Monday to the Norway-Oxford area, Thursday to the Farmington area and Friday to the Lewiston-Auburn area. Call WMTS Customer Service for more information.

WMTS is a private, nonprofit corporation designated by the Maine Department of Transportation as a regional transit corporation. WMTS serves Androscoggin, Franklin and Oxford counties. The mission is to provide non-emergency transportation services to the general population of its service area, with special emphasis for the low income, elderly and disabled. WMTS contracts with the Lewiston-Auburn Transit Committee to operate the Citylink bus service.