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rockcitybender t1_izg4nni wrote

Never going to happen. Not nearly enough ridership potential.

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Ironbird207 t1_izgdtdm wrote

The capitalist catch-22, need infrastructure to keep people in low pop places, can't build infrastructure because it's not profitable for low pop places.

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Yaktheking t1_izgefxs wrote

You can subsidize it but that’s never popular since it is intended to either lose money or pad the pockets of a private company. Socialized losses; privatized gains

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the_bad_engineer08 t1_izgm4zx wrote

Actually most of the bus lines in Maine (and the US) are subsidized by the federal government.

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bluestargreentree t1_izgq299 wrote

All transit is “subsidized”. Driving a car is also heavily subsidized, just in different ways.

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Commercial-Amount344 t1_izkie88 wrote

So If you wanna be hard core anti socialist/anti marxist you drive down the median like a boot strap pulling god? (Yelling America with your sister wife as banjos play YMCA.)

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BuddyBear17 t1_iziue5h wrote

You need rezonings to allow additional residential construction so that the potential ridership is higher. But for that to even matter, there needs to be at least some market pressure for more residences there due to good job opportunities, which there really aren't in Bangor's moribund local economy. But jobs, housing, ridership, and new rail service is the order of operations.

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mymaineaccount46 t1_izj00z5 wrote

You would need massive growth in Bangor to be worth doing an Amtrak line, and that comes with a lot of its own issues. It's not a very large city. Personally I kinda like Bangor how it is. Not too big and busy, not too small as to have nothing.

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Yourbubblestink t1_izg9m5x wrote

The existing bus lines are barely making it. There’s not enough demand for passenger travel by land.

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OniExpress t1_izgrnci wrote

The existing bus lines suck because they turn a 3 hour drive into a 12 hour drive.

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Yourbubblestink t1_izgva11 wrote

Have you ever taken the train from Portland to Boston? It stops every 50 feet

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jusyo t1_izgzoe2 wrote

It's all of 8-9 stops from Portland to Boston.

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Yourbubblestink t1_izh1uzw wrote

Correct. 10 mins per stop equals 90 mins of not moving, one way.

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NMS-KTG t1_izh7rwy wrote

The train stops for like 30 seconds bro

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Chimpbot t1_izhl1ci wrote

The train is a half-hour slower than the bus or just driving in yourself. None of the stops are longer than a couple of minutes.

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omg_choosealready t1_izgzifm wrote

Well yeah. But you can be drinking all the beer while it’s stopping every 50 feet. Still a win in my book. Plus it’s super fun for kids. I have been bringing my daughter on that route for years and we play cards and hang out. Way more fun than me driving while she asks when we’re going to get there!

Disclaimer: I do it without the beer when my daughter is with me 😂😂😂

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PhiloBlackCardinal OP t1_izjq8wm wrote

The Concord Coach Line ride isn’t bad from Boston to Bangor. Just two stops in Portland and Augusta.

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bluestargreentree t1_izgrwtx wrote

Chicken and egg problem. Existing bus service is paltry, so no one rides it, and service isn’t expanded because no one rides it.

Transit needs to be easier than driving because driving will always be more convenient. Making transit easier means making it run more frequently and making it run faster (dedicated bus lanes or dedicated rail).

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Yourbubblestink t1_izgvebu wrote

Dedicated bus lane in central Maine lol. Totally unnecessary. Rail is only faster without stops, the trip by train from Portland yo Boston is no time saver

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bluestargreentree t1_izh0zr7 wrote

It’s faster using the concord coach bus. Also cheaper and more frequent

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mrtlwolf t1_izm7giq wrote

Train is far more comfortable though, unless I can get to the back row my knees are either in my chest or buried in the seat in front of me on Concord Coach.

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bluestargreentree t1_iznh9hy wrote

Yep, 100% agreed. I even drop the extra $10 for business class on Amtrak. Plus, Amtrak goes to north station and the bus doesn’t, so it’s really dependent on where your final destination in Boston is. Airport is a no brainer for the bus.

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dedoubt t1_izikt9r wrote

>driving will always be more convenient

If I want to get from home in Unity to visit family in NH and back, I need a 45 minute car ride from someone to a bus that takes 3 1/4 hours with five stops, or a 1 1/2 hours ride to a train that takes almost 2 hours with 4 stops, then with either, another 45 minute car ride from someone- EACH WAY. Between tickets and gas, it costs $35-95.

If I drive myself, it's a bit over a 5 hour round trip that costs about $30 in gas.

I don't expect Maine to ever have good public transportation because we just don't have the population to support it, but damn, it would be nice.

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BuddyBear17 t1_iziuhd1 wrote

With climate migration, that population density will come, but it's still a generation away.

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dedoubt t1_izjksz4 wrote

Even with the migration, I'll bet most people will settle in southern Maine and that won't bring infrastructure changes further north. It'll probably become one gross giant city from Providence to Portland.

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mymaineaccount46 t1_izj09vb wrote

Even in areas with good transit it can't compete with driving (in my experience.) I lived in Seattle, and right on a rail like in Pittsburgh and transit would still take longer than just driving to your destination. Normally a good 3x as long.

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bluestargreentree t1_izj0qzi wrote

Yeah, this is the fundamental issue. Transit can compete with driving in congested cities, but in those cases we're usually talking about rail. For buses to be competitive with driving, they need dedicated bus lanes and priority at traffic lights.

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