Gas prices are settling down into the high $3-per-gallon range, a price point that leaves most drivers feeling — oddly enough — as if costs are moderating. A year ago, prices were about 70 cents lower. In June 2009, the price was lower still, at about $2.63 cents per gallon. But in June 2008, it was $4.10, a peak that few will forget. That memory is what’s responsible for the relief many are experiencing as it seems likely the $4 threshold won’t be broken this summer.
But an August hurricane here, a Middle East uprising there or signs that the economy is taking off and $5 per gallon is not out of the question.
Maine public policy must respond on several fronts. Encouraging new technology through tax rebates for buying electric cars is one. Continuing to work toward more locally generated electricity is another. And developing more mass transportation options, as difficult as it is in a rural state, also will help.
More mass transit is an unassailable conservative response to high gas prices. The vast majority of spending on fuel leaves the state and does not circulate through and stimulate the local economy. Each energy dollar that stays here boosts Maine.
Similarly, if traffic on Maine roads is reduced, so too is the money needed to maintain and repair those roads.
Rural mass transportation is not an oxymoron, as a look back 75 years ago reveals. Rail service carried people between Boston and Bangor, Ellsworth and Calais. Trolley service was available in many areas, including the Camden to Thomaston Route 1 corridor. Boats carried hundreds of people daily between several coastal towns (including Bangor) and Boston. Today, Southern Maine communities around Portland have developed a network of bus service. Bangor, too, has its BAT buses.
But more can be done. About a third of the federal transportation budget is devoted to passenger transportation. Maine has landed federal money to expand the successful Amtrak Downeaster passenger rail service and establish short-line passenger services in western Maine. The state also has been proactive in creating ride-sharing and commuter-driven van service between Portland, Lewiston-Auburn, Augusta and Bangor.
An important next step is to develop commuter service from the compass points around Bangor. Employers like Eastern Maine Medical Health Care and other health care providers, the University of Maine and private sector businesses are drawing employees from farther and farther away. Commuter vans from Ellsworth, Bucksport, Newport, Dover-Foxcroft and Howland could prove viable. A survey of drivers at the various entry points to Bangor would show which vans should be funded first. The vans could end their runs at the outermost points served by the BAT.
It’s not realistic to expect the kind of public transportation service available in Boston to be available in Bangor. But creative thinking can and should be applied to helping people get to and from work while saving their hard-earned dollars.