Bangor, Maine’s Public Bus System has Major Route Changes Coming

When I was in high school, "The Bus" was king.

I use quotes, because that's what it was called back then. All the public buses for Bangor were simply called, The Bus. Then it was The Bat for a while, which stood for Bangor Area Transit, or something like that. These days of course, it's the Community Connector, and it's the chief mode of transport for many Bangorians.

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One unique feature that all of Bangor's public transportation versions have shared, is that you can get on wherever you want. When I lived in Portland years ago, you could only hop on a city bus at very specific locations, optimized for traffic flow, etc. The ability here, to grab it wherever you are is awesome.

But, the city is slowly going to phase out that feature.

On June 3rd, the city will begin favoring designated stops. You'll still be able to flag down a bus until the end of the year, but as of January of 2025, you'll need to catch it at one of the areas the city chooses for pickup and drop off. The main reasons behind the change, have to do with using some new technology, according to WABI.

Starting in June, buses will have automatic announcements and digital displays on board to let folks know about upcoming stops. The new tech will also keep track of how many people are on the bus, which is always a handy tool during busier times of day. Across all routes, there will be some 400 stops.

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With that many, there's likely to be one very close to where you'd catch the bus anyway. No doubt, it'll inconvenience some people, but it seems to be ready to roll out. It seems like Bangor is just trying to bring our bus system up to the times, with the way it's being done in other places, so there's nothing really new, specifically. But it all sounds like a step in the right direction. Or I guess, a bus ride.

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