Turnpike trips within Maine: 70.7 percent*

Trips starting or ending in Massachusetts or New Hampshire: 22.6 percent

Trips starting or ending in other states: 6.3 percent

Trips beginning or ending in Canada: 0.2 percent

Trips through Maine: 0.3 percent

Source: MTA 2004 Origin Destination Draft Survey

*Numbers slightly rounded

In the comfort lane
Maine drivers using turnpike more often

Mainers might be more willing to hop on the turnpike now than they were in the past.

Summer traffic this year stayed level compared to last year, but trips from out of state decreased, said Dan Paradee, turnpike authority public affairs manager.

That shows that more Mainers were using the turnpike, Paradee said.

In part, the trend has to do with new interchanges such as the ones in Portland and Sabattus.

“Drivers may find it more convenient to just hop on the turnpike,” Paradee said. “Local roads are getting more congested, so it may be easier.”

The finding is part of the latest draft of a new turnpike travel survey being studied by the authority. The final report is expected to be released in January.

The survey shows that almost 71 percent of passenger trips on the turnpike begin and end in Maine. About 23 percent begin or end in Massachusetts or New Hampshire. About 6 percent begin or end in other states.

It also shows increased use by Mainers over the past 10 years. In 1994, Mainers accounted for 78 percent of turnpike traffic. Drivers from Massachusetts and New Hampshire accounted for 9 and 6 percent, respectively, in 1994.

Trips by Mainers increased to 82 percent of all turnpike traffic, according to this year’s survey. The number of Massachusetts and New Hampshire drivers dropped to 7 percent and 5 percent, respectively.

The survey was given to 38,000 drivers who stopped at turnpike tollbooths between May 15 and May 22. Of those, 4,816 surveys were returned.

The findings are also borne out by statistics from this summer, Paradee said. Turnpike traffic barely increased between July and September 2004 compared to 2003. The turnpike saw 149,000 more trips during that time, a less than 1 percent increase.

Turnpike traffic usually grows by 5 percent during that time, year to year. But trips through the York tollbooth decreased. Trips in July through the York tollbooth alone were down 295 trips in 2004, compared to 2003. That means fewer people made trips into Maine from out state.

Paradee said decreases could show a slow summer tourism economy in Maine that extended into fall leaf-peeping season.

“We just didn’t see the growth we normally do, not in recent years,” he said.