BANGOR, Maine — If you can’t catch the bus to work every day, why not try walking or biking? If you live too far from your job, maybe you could consider car pooling with a co-worker? If you want the freedom of having your vehicle some days, perhaps you could car pool half the time?
Supporters and promoters of Commute Another Way Week, which runs May 17-21 with events across Maine, are asking those questions and more as a way to get residents thinking about alternative modes of transportation.
“We live in a very rural state, and people are used to driving in their cars alone to and from work. It that sense, change is difficult,” said Carey Kish, program manager for GoMaine, a joint venture of the Maine Department of Transportation and the Maine Turnpike Authority. “But we’ve seen some sea changes in the last few years.”
Passenger traffic on urban bus systems, such as Bangor’s BAT, continue to increase as commuters continue to deal with volatile gas prices, but Kish said bigger increases have been seen in car pooling, van pooling and bicycling.
Alternative transportation not only reduces pollution and traffic congestion, Kish said, it also saves money.
“It’s easy to calculate savings,” he said. “Say you drive to work five days a week and spend $20 on gas. That’s $4 a day. So, if you car pool twice a week, you can save $8 a week, $35 a month and so on. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t need an extra $500.”
Commute Another Way Week, in its 16th year, is the state’s annual transportation awareness event that promotes the use of car pools, van pools, buses, trains, bicycling and walking as cost-effective and healthful alternatives to driving. Maine employers and their employees, and individual commuters whose employer may not be participating, are encouraged to get involved. In past year’s events, as many as 5,000 commuters and 500 employers have participated, saving 4,600 gallons of gasoline and saving an estimated $75,000 in community costs.
Each day of the week offers a different theme, beginning with van pooling on Monday, transit Tuesday, car pool Wednesday, walking on Thursday and bicycling on Saturday.
Joe McNeil, superintendent of the BAT Community Connector, said Bangor will hold an event at 7 a.m. Tuesday at Pickering Square in downtown Bangor to generate interest in riding the bus. The BAT has participated in Commute Another Way Week for several years and used to offer free bus rides, but McNeil said that won’t happen this year.
“We can’t afford it,” he said.
City councilors in Bangor, who ultimately are charged with setting the budget for the BAT, have proposed increasing fares and reducing services as part of a plan of the proposed 2010-11 budget.
McNeil said he already has received significant feedback from riders about the proposed changes.
“Most people are upset about the reduction in services on holidays rather than the fare increase,” he said. “Other partners of the BAT, such as Brewer and Hampden, have not favored cutting services because ridership is up.”
Bangor councilors will decide on the BAT budget in June.
Kish said buses are an important part of mass transit, but because they are offered only in certain areas and because Maine is so rural, he said car pooling and van pooling have become an increasingly popular community option. GoMaine operates 30 vans for various businesses and coordinates hundreds of car-pooling options through its website, www.gomaine.org.
“The network is in place,” he said. “It’s fast, it’s confidential, and there is no obligation. If you can only car pool one day a week, that’s still better than not car pooling at all.”