BANGOR – Gov. John E. Baldacci has announced a summertime return of Free Fare Fridays. The popular promotion, which provides a free introduction to mass transit in Maine, is returning for a second time after a successful program last fall.

Local buses, including The BAT in the Bangor area, will be free on July 11, July 18 and July 25.

Free Fare Fridays is a month-long campaign that allows Maine residents to explore low-cost transit options available in communities throughout the state, and to help Maine residents cope with soaring gasoline prices.

“We want Maine people to know that riding transit, carpooling and vanpooling are good ways to beat the high cost of gas,” said Baldacci. “Besides, our citizens recognize a good deal when they see one. The program in the fall was very successful and we’re hoping for even better results this summer.”

Free Fare Fridays is a partnership between MaineDOT, the GO MAINE commuter program and local bus providers.

The cities of Lewiston-Auburn have decided to extend the promotion to include Fridays through Aug. 25.

This is the second time Maine transit providers have given free rides on Friday. The first promotion was held from Thanksgiving through Christmas 2007.

Ridership on the South Portland Bus and Portland METRO service was up more than 22 percent. Citylink in Lewiston-Auburn saw a 38 percent increase. The Biddeford-Saco-OOB ShuttleBus and ZOOM had hundreds of new riders.

Bangor’s The BAT experienced the largest increase of all the participating transit services.

In addition to the upsurge in transit riders, commuters are flocking to the GO MAINE commuter Web site. Since the beginning of this year, the site has received more than 1 million hits as Mainers try to find carpool partners and vanpool availability. More than 1,500 new commuters have registered in the last two months.

Mainers are encouraged to sign up for carpooling or vanpooling at www.gomaine.org.