BRUNSWICK

The in-town bus service that started two years ago is on track to increase ridership from the program’s first year by nearly 50 percent, with the expectation of providing around 26,000 rides by the end of August, up from 17,513.

Lee Karker, executive director of Coastal Trans, which operates the Brunswick Explorer shuttle providing rides in town, said Monday that he attributes last year’s increase in riders to increases in the number of stops, the hours of service and a growing awareness of the service that aims to connect Brunswick residents with public transportation service.

That trend is encouraging to Karker, who said that the federal grant funding most of the program’s cost — around $240,000 annually — will likely hold over the 16-passenger shuttle service through December of 2013.

At that point, Karker said the program will no longer be funded through the federal Congestion Mitigation Air Quality Funds program, which now pays for roughly 80 percent of the program cost, after factoring in revenue from fares.

“It will go to a different funding formula that will require a larger local match,” Karker said. “That’s why it’s important to get the ridership up and get interest from the towns and organizations that support it.”

Currently, the list of local governments and agencies supporting the program includes the town of Brunswick, the town of Topsham, Sweetser Mental Health Services, Bowdoin College, Brunswick Housing Authority, United Way of Mid Coast Maine and Mid Coast Hospital.

Upon the program entering its fourth year, when federal funding levels are expected to drop, Karker said his agency will “be approaching a lot of people about funding a local match,” a list that could expand to include the businesses that have received most of the service’s traffic.

Karker said he’s not yet sure how much will have to be raised locally under the funding formula that will take effect in the program’s fourth year.

From ridership numbers in the program’s second year, Hannaford supermarket, Walmart, and shops at Cook’s Corner and Merrymeeting Plaza were among the most popular destinations for Explorer riders.

The bus service currently provides rides for just $1 per ticket or $2 for a day pass along a route that begins at the Mallard Pond housing development and heads downtown, with stops including Brunswick Station, Hannaford and Parkview Adventist Medical Center. The route then extends out along Bath Road toward Cook’s Corner, Mid Coast Hospital, and Sweetser.

Before last September, the service ran hourly from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., which Karker said left few options for riders who might take the shuttle to work or who might use the service to shop in the evening.

Now, the shuttle runs hourly from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., though Karker said that more schedule changes could be the in the works in the coming year.

“We’re not having a lot of usage later in the evening and not a lot at 6 a.m., so we’ll be revising and taking another look at it before the third year,” Karker said.

Heading into the program’s third year, Karker also said that neighboring towns are studying the possibility of starting a regional shuttle that would connect towns like Topsham, Freeport, Brunswick and Bath.

Those discussions are still in early stages, Karker said, though he said the Brunswick-based service is also sparking ideas farther up the coast, in the heart of his agency’s service area.

“We’re looking at the potential for something like this in Rockland, as well,” Karker said.

With the arrival of the Amtrak Downeaster in November, Karker said he’s hopeful that demand for the shuttle service to the downtown train station will continue to increase.

In-town bus route

¦ THE BUS SERVICE currently provides rides for just $1 per ticket or $2 for a day pass along a route that begins at the Mallard Pond housing development and heads downtown, with stops including Brunswick Station, Hannaford and Parkview Adventist Medical Center. The route then extends out along Bath Road toward Cook’s Corner, Mid Coast Hospital, and Sweetser.