The cost of bus, van and taxi service for senior citizens and handicapped people in the Greater Bangor Area will soon be cut in half, thanks to a new experimental ticket project sponsored by the Maine Department of Transportation.

Due to go into effect this spring, the new Greater Bangor Ride program will make half-fare tickets available to senior citizens and others for transportation on The Bus, Eastern Transportation, or local taxis in Bangor, Brewer, Hampden, Veazie, Orono and Old Town. Tickets will be printed in increments of 25 cents, and will be distributed by a variety of local groups and agencies.

Arnold Leavitt, a DOT official, said it is a new approach because one ticket will be good on three different modes. The goal of the project is to increase the mobility of area residents on fixed or limited incomes by makimg transportation more affordable and by giving tham a range of services from which to choose. Leavitt said the project is now being tested on a limited basis in the Bangor area with help from the Eastern Agency on Aging and the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation.

The ticket program is being funded in part by a special grant obtained by DOT from the Urban Mass Transportation Administration. Leavitt said Bangor was chosen as a test area because it had an excellent and well-used transit system, a well-run door-to-door van service, and taxi companies interested in joining the community effort.

The DOT official said the project had $65,000 of UMTA funds available, which would allow it to sell $130,000 worth of half-fare tickets. Those eligible for the service are people 60 years old or older, the handicapped, clients of job training centers and people who qualify under income guidelines administered by Eastern Transportation Services.

Agencies due to help distribute new discount tickets are the Eastern Agency on Aging, the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation, the Training and Development Corp., Eastern Transportation and others.

With the new Bangor Ride project, senior citizens will be able to ride Bangor’s fixed route transit system for half fare during any hour of the day. Handicapped people and others with special needs who rely on Eastern Transportation’s door-to-door service will pay half-fare for bus and van rides in the urban area. Eastern Transportation’s regular charge for a local one-way ride is $1.

Travel in the evening and on Sundays also will be more affordable for many area residents because the tickets will be good on local taxis. Taxi companies have agreed to charge a single fare for groups of two, three or four Bangor Ride ticket holders, provided everyone in the group boards together and travels to the same destination. Leavitt said a number of local taxi companies have agreed to participate.

For more information on the new project, call either the Eastern Agency of Aging at 941-2865 or Eastern Transportation Services at 947-7840.