02 May May’s Action: Green Up Your Travel with Alternative Transportation
May is here: Mud season is giving way to green grass, new leaves on the trees, and people across Freeport are pulling bikes out of storage, taking walks, and lacing up running shoes to enjoy the warming weather, making this the perfect time to talk about alternative modes of transportation as a climate solution.
The rising prices at the gas pump may already have you looking for ways to drive less and keep more of your hard-earned dollars from going into your fuel tank. Driving less or replacing some of our driving with alternative forms of transportation not only saves money, it also makes a real dent in carbon emissions, especially when we are all doing it. In fact, if every American cut driving by 10%, then we could prevent 110 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere each year, or the equivalent of shutting down 28 coal-fired power plants.
Maine is a big state and it takes an awful lot of highway and byway miles to get goods and people where they need to go. The transportation sector accounts for a whopping 49% of our state’s carbon emissions! Therefore, supporting ways to help Mainers drive less – by developing and improving infrastructure for public transit, biking, and walking – is key piece of the state climate action strategy to Embrace the Future of Transportation in Maine laid out in Maine Won’t Wait. The goal? Reduce vehicle miles travelled (VMT) by light-duty vehicles (our personal cars) by 20% and reduce VMT for heavy-duty vehicles by 4% by 2030.
Our EcoHomes Action for May is to look at your driving habits and identify one (or more) areas where you can cut back, then put it into practice! We would love to hear how you are reducing your own VMT. Are you already carpooling? Walking your kids to school? If cutting back on car travel is new for you, what one action do you plan to put into place? Send us an email or a message through Instagram or Facebook. Your efforts may help others shift their driving habits too!
Start with the short trips
Did you know that more than one-third of the trips we take in our cars are less than 2 miles? When you are looking to reduce travel, replacing these frequent, short trips with alternative transport (bike, walking, school bus) are a great place to start. Here are a few ideas:
- Consolidate your errands. Keep a list of the errands you need to run and wrap them all into one excursion instead of running out for that one thing.
- Shop local. If you live outside of town, park in one of the many free parking lots, and walk from shop to shop. Bonus – you not only save fuel, you also get some steps in. The FreeportCAN Green Guide is a great resource for planning your shopping trips with the planet in mind.
- Green up the school run and avoid idling in the pickup/drop-off line by sending your kids to school on the bus, or walk if you’re close enough. Did you know: According to the Department of Energy, idling can use a quarter to a half gallon of fuel per hour but restarting your car only uses 10 seconds worth of fuel!
- Turn shopping into a social event: make a weekend plan with a friend for a shared trip to the stores in Brunswick, Topsham, or another surrounding community. Take turns driving and reward each other for carpooling with a cup of coffee or tea at a favorite spot.
Earn rewards for reducing VMT with GO MAINE
Go Maine is a program of the MaineDOT and Maine Turnpike Authority that serves the entire state. Their goal is to help Mainers commute greener and save money by reducing VMT. Go Maine matches members up with carpools and vanpools, provides an “emergency ride home,” a Multimodal Trip Planner, and more. They also reward members with points for any type of green commuting – carpooling, vanpool, public transportation, biking, walking, and even teleworking – with coupons for local, national and online restaurants, retailer discounts, tickets to shows and attractions, and special raffles. And rewards are not just for commuting: you can also log green trips for any purpose, like shopping or a weekend adventure.
According to a recent report by the Maine Climate Council, 728 individuals participated in the GO MAINE program during 2025 and reduced 2,251,594 VMT. That is equivalent to driving from Kittery to Calais to Fort Kent 4,863 times!
Membership is free and signing up is easy – to sign up and learn all about the program, head to GO MAINE.
Take the Train
Freeport is lucky to be a stop on the rail line for the Amtrak Downeaster. Consider a train trip for your next visit to Boston – you can access the city easily by public transit and walking, making for a low-carbon vacation. Or you can hop on the train and avoid paying for long-term parking for your next flight out of Logan. Need to keep the kids busy on a day off from school? Pick up discounted admission tickets to the Children’s Museum of Maine at the Freeport Community Library and make an adventure out of taking the Downeaster. They will love the added excitement of the train ride. Add a picnic lunch or stop in at a local brewery and you can fill the whole day – a win for tired parents!
Get an extra boost from an electric bike
You have probably noticed that Freeport is NOT flat. E-bikes have been gaining popularity as a mode of transport, allowing commuters to travel further, up hillier terrain, or with more groceries than a normal human-powered bike.
The Bus is a BREEZ
The Metro BREEZ connects Freeport with points of interest including Bowdoin College, Maine Medical Center, Downtown Portland, Portland Transportation Center, and more. There are 15 round trips, Monday through Friday (6 round trips on Saturdays), between Portland, Yarmouth, Freeport, and Brunswick. You can work while you commute on the BREEZ bus thanks to free Wi-Fi and USB outlets. For routes and schedules head to Metro BREEZ.
For longer distance travel, Concord Coach Lines can take you from Freeport to Boston and beyond.
Help plan for the future
Familiarize yourself with the Freeport Village Corridor Initiative | Freeport, ME and take the survey to share your thoughts to let our Town Leaders know that you value improved access to alternative transit!
“The Village Corridor Initiative has developed draft concepts and recommendations that identify improvements to make Main Street and surrounding areas safer, more comfortable, and easier to navigate for everyone – whether walking, biking, taking transit, or driving.”
The survey takes five minutes and “invites your input on which transportation elements should be emphasized or fine‑tuned as the Freeport VCI moves toward final recommendations.”