BETHEL — Mountain Explorer buses, which provide free transportation for locals and winter visitors, will be running again this season, but with some changes.

The first is that the service will be operating at half capacity to ensure people can socially distance. Riders will also be asked to wear masks while on the buses. When people get on, they will load back-to-front and when they unload, they will go front-to-back, Western Maine Transportation Services (WMTS) announced in a press release earlier this month. The press release also stated that the interior of the bus will be cleaned frequently.

WMTS said in the release that at the request of their major sponsors, they “will not be stopping at any of their establishments this winter,” with the primary concern being that people would have to wait outside in the cold until seating becomes available.

WMTS Community Relations Director, Craig Zurhorst, said he hopes to have the bus schedule available this month.

“The community is coming together to the best of its ability to support this service,” Zurhorst said.

Given the lack of big sponsors this season, WMTS is hoping to get contributions from other sponsors, even if the amount is smaller. They are encouraging everyone to donate so the free service can continue to function.

People who want to donate can go to the Mountain Explorer GoFundMe page www.gofundme.com/f/mountainexplorer or write a check out to WMTS Inc. They ask that people write “Mountain Explorer” on the memo line and send to: WMTS, 76 Merrow Road, Auburn, Maine, 04210.

The Mountain Explorer was founded in 2000 to provide safe, free, environmentally friendly transportation for residents and winter visitors, whether users are shopping, running errands, heading to appointments, going out for dinner or skiing at Sunday River in Newry. Last year, with funding from the Volkswagen Clean Air Act Civil Settlement,  three new 2019 Champion Defender buses were bought to replace older ones in the Mountain Explorer fleet.

·