I grew up in Springfield, Maine, a small rural community that most people drive through on their route to somewhere else. My family found it difficult to leave town. Reliable transportation was not only difficult to obtain, but it was also the single most significant barrier to our access to community, resources and opportunities. The nearest gas station or small store was about three miles away. The next town with essentials and amenities, like a grocery store, doctor or pharmacy, was around a 25-minute drive. That drive wasn’t just long, it was brutal.
Route 6, the primary road we relied on, was a disaster in the winter, but the bigger problem was year-round maintenance. Massive potholes, frost heaves, washouts and deterioration caused havoc on any car we had. For families like mine, our cars were never new or reliable to begin with. Every mile on the road was a risk and a cost.
We had no idea if we’d have gas money or a working car. If it wouldn’t start or the road conditions were too severe, we simply couldn’t go. This included missed medical visits, school days, groceries and social opportunities. We couldn’t make any commitments since we weren’t sure we’d be able to follow through.
What that does to a child’s sense of self is difficult to describe. I felt “less than,” as if I was constantly falling behind and looking for help. It created a sense of learned helplessness and the idea that no matter how hard we worked, we would never catch up. I now realize that this was not a personal failure, but rather a systemic one.
Unfortunately, my story is not rare. The John T. Gorman Foundation reports that approximately 40,000 Maine households do not have reliable access to a vehicle. Public transportation serves only approximately 11% of our state. For elderly folks and people with disabilities, especially in rural areas, this means significant and long-term isolation.
That’s why I’m urging lawmakers to pass LD 263, Resolve to Provide Rural Nonmedical Transportation Services to the Elderly and Adults with Disabilities Receiving Home and Community Benefits Under MaineCare.
This bill creates an 18-month pilot program that will offer up to $2,000 per person in nonmedical transportation services to people receiving home and community benefits. These funds could be used for necessary everyday trips, such as grocery shopping, attending community events, or visiting loved ones. These are not luxuries, they are lifelines.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has linked social isolation to a higher risk of stroke, heart disease and cognitive decline. For people with disabilities and older adults, connection is more than emotional, it is medical. LD 263 recognizes this. It’s not about adding more bus stops; it’s about improving access and autonomy.
And it’s a smart policy. Helping people stay in their homes and communities, rather than forcing them into costly institutional care, saves the state money in the long term. The initiative is expected to cost less than $1 million over the next two fiscal years. That is a small investment when compared to the cost of avoidable ER visits or long-term care placements.
What impresses me the most about LD 263 is that it recognizes what rural Mainers have always known: transportation is the foundation upon which everything else is built. Without it, nothing else works. Not health care, food access, community or opportunity.
I often consider the “Boots Theory” of poverty, which explains that being poor is more expensive in the long term because you can only afford to replace broken items. That was us with automobiles. We couldn’t afford anything new or trustworthy, so we drove beaters down rough roads until they broke down. And while we continued to piece things together, the opportunities we needed moved further and further away.
LD 263 won’t fix all the problems, but it is a significant start. It provides thousands of Mainers with dignity, mobility and the opportunity to reintegrate into their communities.
To somebody who has never had to worry about getting to the doctor, getting groceries, or simply connecting with others, this expense may appear insignificant. However, it has the potential to transform the lives of families like mine. I urge the Legislature and Gov. Mills to support LD 263 and help construct a Maine in which no one is left behind merely because they cannot get a ride.
