LEWISTON — Twin Cities residents don’t realize how useful the Citylink bus service is, according to a handful of riders Wednesday.

A group of eight riders met with transit officials Wednesday afternoon to review changes to service scheduled to take effect Aug. 2.

The group gave the current service high marks, but said they looked forward to the changes. Improvements include limited bus service on Saturdays beginning Aug. 7, longer service on all routes and additional stops.

“I’m very happy with the service,” said Kathleen Jacques of Roslin Avenue in Lewiston. “I began taking the bus when my husband and I decided to reduce our carbon footprint and we became a one-car couple. And I find that I can use service and get where I need to go.”

Her one suggestion, do more to promote bus service.

“We need to do more to promote the service to people that don’t need it, those that have a car,” she said.

Bus route and service changes are designed to help the service grow, according to Marsha Bennett, transit coordinator for the Lewiston-Auburn Transit Committee. Beginning Aug. 2, service will be less frequent, changing from 30-minute routes to hour-long routes. That’s designed to make it easier for the buses to stay on schedule, making the service more reliable.

Service will last longer, with buses beginning service earlier in the morning and running later in the evening. That’s designed to appeal to local work commuters.

Across the program, bus service is being expanded to Little Canada, the B Street Community Center, Geiger, Montello schools and Lewiston Middle School in Lewiston, Auburn Middle School and Edward Little High School, Auburn Plaza and the Auburn Mall Apartments.

The new schedule also introduces a new hub for Auburn service at the Hannaford supermarket on Spring Street.

Citylink will run two Saturday routes between 9 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. The first will run through Lewiston, up College Street and across the Androscoggin River to the Auburn Mall. The second will run to New Auburn, then back through downtown Auburn to the mall.

The committee has planned a special ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9:15 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 7, to introduce the Saturday service.

Bennett and LATC committee members presented the changes at two public meetings Tuesday night in Auburn and Wednesday afternoon in Lewiston. Both meetings drew a small number of riders.

“We had several people Tuesday ask why we’re only running selected Saturday service, instead of the entire system,” Bennett said. “The fact is, we can’t afford to a do a full Saturday schedule at this point.”

Future expansions could depend on how well the service changes are accepted, she said.

“The goal is to improve ridership,” Bennett said. “If more people start taking the bus, that helps us make the case for expanding services further.”

Bennett also urged riders with cell phone cameras to snap pictures of crowds on the buses if they encounter them and e-mail them to her, at [email protected].

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