AUGUSTA — The Maine Department of Transportation has decided to extend the state-run van pool service that it announced last month was shutting down in May.
MDOT spokesman Ted Talbot said officials have talked about extending the service until Labor Day, but that decision hasn’t been made.
MDOT Commissioner David Bernhardt is expected to present the details of the plan for the extension to Legislature’s Transportation Committee at a meeting at 1 p.m. Tuesday.
More than 100 of the 225 people who use the service — mostly state employees commuting to Augusta — signed a letter sent to Bernhardt last week asking for a year-long extension to allow time to look for ways to keep the program going.
Talbot said the department still plans to end the service, “but we’ll be easing that transition with a broader timeframe.”
The DOT informed the van pool riders late last month that it has decided to end the service because it won’t have the federal funding needed to replace its aging vehicles.
The state hasn’t had the money to replace any of its 27 vans since 2008. Each van costs between $40,000 and $50,000, and has a useful life of about five years.
The routes to Augusta start in Portland, Yarmouth, Lewiston, Topsham and Waterville. Other routes include Portland to Lewiston, Augusta to Portland, and Van Buren to Limestone.
A private company, Michigan-based VPSI Inc., has said it can provide a comparable service to the riders, and the state will continue to help commuters find a van to ride in through its Go Maine program, which oversees the van pools and other commuter services.
Riders have said they believe VPSI’s service will be significantly more expensive than the state’s, and is more burdensome because it requires one of the riders to lease the van.
Talbot said two other companies have recently said they can help VPSI take over the van routes.
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