AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Department of Transportation’s plan to end the state’s commuter van pool program and encourage its 250 riders to use private van pool services has a York County lawmaker wondering what went wrong with the program and what will become of a $233,000 surplus in rider fees that was earmarked for replacement vans.
Rep. Donald Pilon, D-Saco, will ask the Legislature’s investigative arm on Thursday to look into the state’s GoMaine Commuter Connections program, which is slated to end Sept. 1. Pilon will request the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability investigation at a meeting of the Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee.
“Things really don’t add up,” said Pilon, a Government Oversight Committee member. “Numbers don’t add up.”
The Department of Transportation last winter announced plans to phase out the van pool service by May 1 and encourage riders to contract with private providers to resume their van pools.
Transportation officials made the decision after determining that the GoMaine van pool program — which serves about 250 commuters on 27 routes statewide and has a waiting list of about 250 people — couldn’t afford to replace all the vans that needed replacing while expanding the program to meet demand, said Department of Transportation spokeswoman Nina Fisher.
“The GoMaine rates would have had to go up substantially to reflect that we have a very aging fleet, and we simply do not have the available resources to replace all the vehicles in the fleet that would be requiring replacement in the next few years,” Fisher said.
But that explanation hasn’t satisfied the van pool commuters who pay $63 to $200 monthly and have found the private van pool options available to them would, in some cases, cost about 75 percent more than they now pay.
At a legislative session this spring, the Department of Transportation provided data that showed the GoMaine van pool program had taken in $233,000 more in rider fees in recent years than it spent. Rider fees cover the vans’ fuel and maintenance costs as well as their replacement.
“Our fares were covering expenses, and DOT was making some money,” said Deborah Turcotte, who drives an 11-person van pool daily from Bangor to Augusta, where she works at the Maine State Housing Authority. “And the money was not used to buy replacement vehicles.”
“This money, in my opinion, has to be returned to these riders,” said Pilon, the Saco legislator who’s requesting the GoMaine investigation. “All these people that rode the vans and were having money taken out of their paychecks — I’d be upset if I were one of those riders.”
In addition to the $233,000 surplus in rider fees, the Department of Transportation had budgeted $240,000 for fiscal years 2012 and 2013 to purchase replacement GoMaine vans.
But even the rider fee surplus and the amount budgeted for van replacements fall well short of the $1 million needed in the coming years to replace all vans that will need to be taken off the road, Fisher said. Replacement vans run about $43,000 apiece, she said. The GoMaine program would have needed to replace at least five vans in the near future.
“We were still not getting anywhere near the need of just replacing the vehicles, much less expanding the program,” Fisher said.
Fisher said the $233,000 surplus in rider fees won’t be returned to riders. Instead, it will be used to rehab the vehicles in preparation for turning them over to regional transit agencies throughout Maine when the van pools end, Fisher said. Some of the money also could be used to continue other GoMaine services, including a free online program that connects commuters who want to carpool.
Fisher said the $240,000 allocated for van replacements in the Department of Transportation budget will be reallocated.
For their part, GoMaine van pool riders had asked the Department of Transportation to delay the van pool program’s end by a year so riders could work with program managers to find a way to sustain the program — which is funded by the Department of Transportation and the Maine Turnpike Authority and largely operated by the Greater Portland Council of Governments — and grow it.
“If you have a successful program that is known nationally as a well-run program, why cancel it?” she said. “If you have a restaurant, all the seats are filled and you have a line waiting to get in, you don’t close your doors. You find a way to keep the business going.”
Transportation officials didn’t take the riders up on their offer but they did delay the program’s end date by four months, from May 1 to Sept. 1, to give riders more time to make other commuting arrangements.
“We didn’t feel the financial reality would change within a year,” Fisher said.
As the program winds down in the coming weeks, Fisher said two of the 27 van pools have withdrawn from the program to pursue private arrangements. The riders of a Portland-to-Augusta van pool formed a limited liability corporation and purchased their own van. Another van pool, in Aroostook County, shifted to a private van pool service.
Responding to the possibility of an OPEGA investigation into the GoMaine program, Fisher said, “We’re happy to cooperate with the committee in any way possible.”
MDOT is not following the old America axiom: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
So let’s get this straight: GoMaine runs a successful vanpool program, so successful that it has a waiting list AND it’s collected $233,000 more from riders than it needed to cover expenses. That would help MDOT buy six replacement vans roughly. MDOT has said before that they need six new vans to keep vanpools operating at current levels.
MDOT has another $240,000 set aside in federal dollars to buy new vans. (Waiting list?) Now we’re up to a half-million dollars — from riders and the feds So MDOT instead is going to use that money to get this so-called aging fleet ready to sell the vans to towns. It probably isn’t going to cost that much because the vans go through regular maintenance, which I hear from talking to a rider that MDOT bills to GoMaine. So MDOT makes money there too.
Extra riders’ fees to the tune of a quarter-million dollars. Riders paying MDOT to maintain the vans. Federal dollars to help (probably congestion relief funds like the Downeaster and metro buses get). Selling the well-maintained vans to towns. Wow! Sounds like MDOT hit the lottery and now is telling riders to go away. If a business was doing this the AG’s office would be sending out a fraud alert!
I’d want to know where the money is going, too! What MDOT project is GoMaine riders actually going to be paying for? East-west highway project? Downeaster station? Hope they put up a plaque thanking GoMaine riders for their contributions!!
A successful program. Riders covering all of the expenses. A waiting list. Serves a need by helping private and public workers get to their jobs and keeps extra cars off the roads. Sounds like the government is killing something that actually works! Like that person says in the story — yep we’re successful so we’re closing shop. Stupid!
Successful program? The DOT says it needs $1 million to replace vans over the next few years and they have cash from fees collected over the past few years of $233K. That’s a +$750K shortfall. And where does it say in the article that the $240K budgeted is federal funds and why does that even matter? Taxpayer dollars will be needed to subsidize the program whether they are federal or state dollars.
From what I’ve heard from riders, their fares covered all of the expenses. MDOT took in EXTRA cash from riders that was to go to buying replacement vans. Riders gave the money for the vans and it was not spent on the vans. MDOT did not do its bookkeeping correctly. They should have been putting aside the money that’s collected each month for replacement vans — and still would if the program kept going — and use it for replacements instead of spending it on something else. What’s the something else that MDOT is paying for? That’s the point that legislators are finding out … MDOT is not managing the money correctly.
Why do the vans cost $43,000 a piece?
Have you looked at the price of a new commercial vehicle complete with wheelchair lift lately?
Not all the vans used by GoMaine have wheelchair lifts. Some of the vans being used are Dodge Caravans and don’t cost $43,000. More like $20,000. And states get major discounts when purchasing FLEET vehicles.
Over half of riders of this program are State employees. Why are these rider allowed a lower commuter price than the taxpayers of this State. I read that the Federal dollars may not be so easy to get anymore. No administrative cost mentioned anywhere in the article or liability insurance. I guess the tax payer will just foot the bill for that just like the original cost of the vans. Now a State Legislator wants to refund the extra money back to the riders, which by the way over half were State employees. This State is out of control. Rob Peter to pay Paul and Paul will always vote for the robber.
bs- its just more lepage agenda– kill a very succesful program that was generating a surplus
The state workers are from the Lepage regime. He fired most workers and put his only family and friends into their positions. Another slush fund for Lepage to dip into for his trips to Jamaica-man.
Why should any of the monies collected be returned to those who paid?? Did they not pay for and receive services for their respective payments?? The numbers for this program just do not add-up….the monies needed to replace the vehicles are off by over $.5 million…..Crazy…..
This is EXTRA money. Would you pay your taxes and then give the state more money each month without getting anything for it?
There is “extra” money in the till because the MDOT has not replaced the vehicles necessary to continue operating at current levels, not even taking into account being able to expand their services to address a “waiting list”…..if the vehicle purchases would be made as claimed necessary then the budget would be $.5 million in the red….so much for “extra” monies…..it seems the “payers” are getting serviced so again why should any money be given back to them? Crazy……
You have to fund all those gifts, bonuses, coffee fund,travel vacations and the twinkie fund for all them lawmakers and the gov. you cant expect them” do nothing middle managers” as the gov.calls them to put their own money into that stuff as long as the taxpayers put up with it.
More Government pork being cooked. Good show…