BAT ridership up 12 percent since September debut

BANGOR – Ridership on the Bangor region’s bus network has increased almost 12 percent since the new BAT buses went on line in September, according to the service’s officials.

Whether the increase can be attributed to the revamped buses and the new color scheme, however, is not clear.

The BAT Community Connectors – the red, silver and black replacements for the former white-and-orange models – made their debut in Bangor, Orono, Old Town, Veazie, Brewer, Hampden and the University of Maine – in September, after a brief preview during the National Folk Festival in August.

According to Joseph McNeil, superintendent of The BAT, the ridership increase might be attributed to other factors, such as the relatively lower cost of public transportation compared to financing, operating and maintaining private vehicles.

Don Cooper of the Bangor Area Comprehensive Transportation System said the new buses have air conditioning, which their predecessors lacked. The buses also are designed to be more accessible to riders with physical handicaps.

The BAT Community Connector is nearly done phasing out its bland-looking orange-and-white buses, which Cooper said were hard to distinguish from RVs.

Another factor, McNeil said, could be promotion. Besides the traditional hats and T-shirts, McNeil said, the BAT promoters produced a limited-edition BAT candy bar. Only 150 or so were made. The BAT bars are actually Hershey chocolate bars that McNeil purchased at a local discount store, with a distinctive wrapper that was printed downtown. The wrapper features a picture of one of the new buses on the front and information about its service area and contact information on the back.

City officials handed out BAT bars between meetings Monday night.

As both a promotion and a thank-you to riders, a “gold pass” good for six months of free riding will be awarded to the winner of a drawing set for noon Dec. 23 at the bus stop at Pickering Square, where the buses rendezvous about every half-hour during operating hours.

Exactly which factors played a role in increased use, however, was speculative.

“If you asked 50 people, you’d get 50 different answers,” Cooper said Friday.

Some of the riders waiting for BATs at Pickering Square on Friday said neither the new buses nor their updated look were factors in their own riding habits.

Rita Watson of Bangor said she liked to walk, but occasionally used the bus when her multiple sclerosis required it. She added that she is not a fan of the new buses.

“I hate them. They’re an accident waiting for a place to happen,” she said, adding that she has trouble with depth perception, and the step on the new bus looks like two steps to her because of its two rectangular indentations.

She said the new buses provided a “bumpier” ride. “Give me the old ones anytime,” she said.

Wally Moran, also of Bangor, observed that the doors and aisles were wider.

Both riders lamented that they could not see well from inside because of the large gray bat screen-printed over the side windows. Neither rider cared for the new color scheme.

Buy Charlie Colson, formerly of Winterport but now of Bangor, said he preferred the new buses: “They’re easier to get on and off.”