AUBURN – A new transportation study will look at development trends and other economic factors over the past six years to rate the Twin Cities’ bus system.

“We’re going to look at the current system, but it’s been strongly suggested we look at everything from the ground up to see what kind of bus service we really need,” said Marsha Bennett, transit coordinator for the Lewiston-Auburn Transit Committee, the group that operates the CityLink bus system.

The transit committee is accepting bids to perform the study over the summer. It will compare the system’s route system, ridership statistics and the number of buses to local demographics, development trends and economics.

Bennett expects the study to wrap up in the fall. It should include at least two public meetings to discuss bus service and a public presentation of the study in November.

CityLink owns 10 buses and operates nine routes in Lewiston and Auburn. Ridership had been increasing since 2001, and peaked in 2006 with 214,000 riders.

“We’re being pretty open-minded, to find out what is the best level of service for Lewiston-Auburn,” Bennett said. “There are very definite changes in the needs across the community. For example, we have a greater number of bus riders in wheelchairs than before. That determines how you operate, what kind of schedules you keep and what kind of equipment you need.”

The committee hired consultants to do a similar study in 2001. That study suggested creating two hubs, one each in Lewiston and Auburn, and linking them with a downtown shuttle. At the time, all routes began at the downtown Lewiston bus station.

The transit committee debuted the new two-hub system and a free downtown shuttle in 2003.

“It’s been six years since we did a study, so it’s time to reassess,” Bennett said. “Both Lewiston and Auburn have changed, and the traffic patterns in both cities are different. Fuel prices are higher, and I think that needs to be factored into the discussion.”