By Scott Taylor,Staff Writer

Bus fares for trips in the Twin Cities are scheduled to rise by a quarter this fall.

The planned increase is meant to help pay for the free downtown shuttle that runs five days a week, said Marsha Bennett, transit coordinator for the Androscoggin Regional Transit Center, which owns and operates the CityLink bus system.

“It costs about $150,000 to run that free shuttle, but there are only so many ways we can pay for it,” Bennett said. The transit center began running the free shuttle in 2004. It was funded through an annual $120,000 federal air-quality grant.

The grant runs out in August, and the transit committee had to find an additional $45,000 to maintain the free shuttle, Bennett said. Most will come from fares on the system’s seven other routes.

The plan also calls for reducing service on the free shuttle from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The shuttle currently runs every 15 minutes from 7:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. The new schedule would reduce service to every 30 minutes during the middle of the day.

“But we keep 15-minute service in the morning and the afternoon, when most people really use the service,” Bennett said.

This will be the first ATRC fare increase since 1996.

The cost for most trips is scheduled to rise from $1 to $1.25. Costs for students and senior citizens will rise as well, from 75 cents and 50 cents to $1 and 60 cents, respectively.

Paratransit trips on special handicapped-equipped vans won’t be spared, either. Fares for those buses are scheduled to rise from $2 to $2.50.

Monthly passes won’t change, however. They’ll stay at $30 per month, with discounted $15 per month rates for seniors and students.

“So really, we’re making them an even better deal,” Bennett said.

The Lewiston-Auburn Transit Committee is taking comments on the fee plan until June 15 at citylink@avcog.org.

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