Shoreline Explorer puts brakes on summer Ogunquit-Kennebunk trolley service: Here's why

WELLS, Maine — York County Community Action Corporation is suspending its Blue Line Trolley Service this summer, citing a continued shortage of licensed drivers as the reason.

Debra Paradis, the assistant director of transportation at YCCAC, said recruiting and hiring the needed number of individuals with a commercial driver’s license (CDL) for the organization’s trolley service remains a challenge.

“Unfortunately, this has become the norm across the country for so many businesses that rely on an increasingly scarce number of CDL-licensed drivers,” Paradis said in a recent press release.

Based in Sanford, YCCAC runs its trolley service through the Shoreline Explorer, which is a public-private partnership of trolley and shuttle services, partially funded by the Maine Department of Transportation and the Federal Transit Administration.

The Blue Line Trolley Service is comprised of five vehicles that run a 30-mile stretch between Lower Village in Kennebunk to the Ogunquit town line, with stops at beaches in Kennebunk and Wells, as well as Wells Harbor.

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Paradis said YCCAC plans to continue what it did during the driver shortages of the past two summers.

“We are hoping to double service on our Orange Line route between Sanford and Wells and also extend the route to Wells Beach,” she said.

On its website, YCCAC lists employment opportunities for drivers, offering competitive wages and flexible, part-time or full-time hours. Anyone interested in driving a trolley or shuttle for the Shoreline Explorer is encouraged to contact Kim Engel at (207) 432-2848 or email at [email protected].

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This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Shoreline Explorer suspends summer Ogunquit-Kennebunk trolley service