South Portland Bus Service was a municipally owned suburban provider of
mass transportation
Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...
. Because the city of
South Portland opted out of the
Greater Portland Transit District, this community ran its own separate three-route bus service from 1983 until 2024, when it merged with the
Greater Portland Metro. Two routes serve major shopping areas and loop through major residential streets, funnelling residents locally and giving them access to downtown
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
*Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon
*Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine
*Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel
Portland may also r ...
. A third route provides access to
Willard Beach and
Southern Maine Community College
Southern Maine Community College is a public community college with campuses in South Portland and Brunswick, Maine. It is part of the Maine Community College System.
History
Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) opened in Augusta, Maine in ...
, with all three routes going to downtown Portland.
Merger with Greater Portland METRO
In 2024, the City Council of South Portland voted unanimously to merge its municipal bus service with the regional Greater Portland METRO bus system. METRO will maintain the same routes, and hire all the existing South Portland bus drivers if they so choose. This change took place December 29, 2024.
Routes
*21 Willard Square/SMCC
*24A
Maine Mall via Main Street
*24B Maine Mall via Community Center
As of reporting in June 2024, route 21 had an annual ridership of around 70,000 for 2024, while route 24A had around 89,000, and 24B around 56,000.
Ridership Committee
– Greater Portland Metro, June 18, 2024
See also
* Public transportation in Maine
References
External links
Official website
Bus transportation in Maine
South Portland, Maine
Transit agencies in Maine
{{Maine-transport-stub