Nine months ago, John Rand of Raymond started commuting to work on the Lakes Region Shuttle.

For Rand, an employee of the environmental engineering firm, Amec Foster Wheeler, abandoning his long commutes to work in Portland has been a blessing. Instead of driving, he works on his laptop on the way.

“It’s totally awesome,” Rand said. “Very convenient, very affordable, Wi-Fi, diesel hybrid bus. It doesn’t get any better.”

On Tuesday, amid freezing rain, Rand off-loaded onto the Portland sidewalk with Brad McCurtain, an investment broker from Raymond, and Kendra Palmer of Gorham. Aside from driver Jack Uminski of Falmouth, the 22-seat bus had been emptied.

“We’ve got to get our ridership up,” Rand said.

The Portland-based Regional Transportation Program launched the Lakes Region Shuttle in late November 2013. According to Corey Gagnon, the program’s operations manager, the nonprofit’s leadership is happy with ridership data to date.

“I’m very satisfied with it as a matter of fact,” Gagnon said. “I’ve seen a steady increase in the numbers.”

But the shuttle service is in a state of flux following the early December departure of RTP community relations coordinator Dan Goodman, who planned and oversaw the Lakes Region Shuttle service. Goodman is now working at AAA Northern New England, according to Gagnon.

Despite Goodman’s exit, RTP is planning to stay the course with the Lakes Region Shuttle, Gagnon said. In coming weeks, program officials will formally ask municipalities to contribute money toward the service, which is partly funded by the Maine Department of Transportation, Gagnon said. Next year, the bus route is set to extend into Bridgton, as well.

The shuttle runs back and forth on Route 302 between Naples and Portland every weekday, starting in Naples at 6 a.m., and ending there at 8:20 p.m. The stops include the American Legion Hall on Route 11 in Naples, Norm’s O Scale Trains in Casco, Sunset Variety in Raymond, the cinema entrance at the Windham Mall, Prides Corner at 33 Elmwood Ave. in Westbrook, and Metro Pulse in downtown Portland. The bus has room for two wheelchair users and nine standing passengers, as well. One-way fares cost $3, all-day fares $5, 10-ride passes $25, and one-month passes $75.

On Sept. 23, Goodman presented data on the shuttle’s performance to the Windham Town Council. According to the presentation, the shuttle averaged 731 riders per month from December 2013 through July 2014. Every time an individual boards the bus, it is counted as a ride. Ridership declined from December to February, rebounded in March, and dramatically increased in the summer months. According to the data, ridership bottomed out in February at 544, and peaked in July at 1,264. Gagnon did not provide data on ridership after July.

An on-board survey from June 2014 found that roughly 45 percent of riders were using the shuttle for work, 25 percent for visiting friends and family, 10 percent for medical appointments, 8 percent for shopping, 5 percent for school and 3 percent for recreational purposes.

In August, Greater Portland Council of Governments staffers Rick Harbison and Stephanie Carver published a service assessment of the shuttle. The study found that the most popular ride was the early-morning shuttle southbound from Naples to Portland. The second-most popular was the northbound evening shuttle. The least popular were the early and mid-morning shuttles heading northbound.

The assessment also found that the most popular stops were in Portland, Naples and Windham. According to Harbison and Carver, those three stops are the most pedestrian-friendly.

The assessment recommended that the shuttle establish six new “request stops,” or locations where the bus will only stop if someone is there. The recommended request stops included Mercy Health Center and the Brookhaven neighborhood in Windham, the Raymond Shopping Center, Tenney Hill Road in Casco, the Naples Public Library, and Lake Region High School in Naples. Carver and Harrison also recommended increasing the frequency of trips, providing weekend service, and extending shuttle hours for special occasions, such as First Friday Art Walks and concerts.

“It’s great to see this service running,” Harbison said. “It was probably over a decade where it was just planned for, and there were a couple fits and starts, and now it’s actually on the road and it’s running and it’s providing service, and it’s great to see. I hope to see it continue. I don’t think the vision has been totally realized yet, either.”

“One of the things that I want to do personally is ride the bus from Portland to Naples on a Saturday with my bike and then get off in Naples or Bridgton and then go for a ride out in that area,” Harbison added. “Just use the bus to get out there.”

A group called the Bridgton Transportation Authority is lobbying the program to establish a stop at the Bridgton Community Center on Depot Street in downtown Bridgton. The six-person group is attempting to raise $5,000 toward funding the new stop for six months, since RTP is not prepared to fund the added service yet. According to George Bradt, secretary of the authority, the group has also successfully submitted a petition to put forward a warrant article on the June 10 town meeting that would raise the Bridgton tax rate 1 cent in order to finance the stop for another year.

Gagnon said the Bridgton stop was set to begin “next fiscal year.” But according to Bradt, his understanding of the agreement is that the Bridgton service stop is set to begin Jan. 5, assuming the group can raise sufficient funds. As of Dec. 10, the group had raised $2,500.

“I just think it’s a fascinating, wonderful, super opportunity to get place-bound people a bit more exposure to other places,” Bradt said. “There are a lot of people who can’t drive, shouldn’t drive, don’t have vehicles, don’t have the money. There are a lot of things holding people back from car ownership. Nobody should be stigmatized for not owning a car in my opinion.”

At the Windham Town Council meeting, Goodman presented his vision for the future of the program. It included an increased number of stops, increased frequency of service, weekend service, improved bicycle and pedestrian access to stops, and an increased awareness of the bus.

Harbison, who also attended the Windham meeting, said the fate of the shuttle would not be clear for at least another two years.

“At the end of three years you either know if it’s working or not,” Harbison said. “Based on the ridership numbers, I wouldn’t rush to judgment either way.”

Raymond residents John Rand, left, and Brad McCurtain get ready to walk to work after riding the Lakes Region Shuttle, which has been in operation for one year.  Kendra Palmer of Gorham heads for work after taking the Lakes Region Shuttle into Portland Tuesday.