The revised plan calls for low-emission buses and could allow the Island Explorer to expand its fleet as ridership grows.
Sep 19, 2026
The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Window Panes Home and Garden.
ACADIA NATIONAL PARK—The Island Explorer will get a new fleet of buses, but they won’t be electric.
Instead, the fare-free system plans to replace its existing buses with low-emission vehicles and potentially add as many as eight more by 2031, according to Acadia National Park officials. The change comes as Island Explorer ridership has increased by approximately 40,000 passengers so far this season and the park looks for ways to move more visitors through some of its busiest traffic bottlenecks.
Maine Public reported this week that the the Island Explorer fleet replacement buses will not be electric, but low-emission vehicles.
At the Acadia National Park Advisory Commission (a citizen advisory commission for the National Park Service), on Monday, national park representatives said that the purchases were part of an approximately $23.5 million USDOT grant awarded back in 2024 to the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) from the U.S. Department of Transportation from Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity funds.
At that meeting, Management Assistant John Kelly spoke toward the likelihood of purchasing low-emission vehicles or hybrid vehicles was linked to cost and availability of the buses. Typically, low-emission buses that are still powered by propane cost half of electric bus costs.
The park staff said they are looking for ways to help improve how the fare-free buses move throughout the park. One of the biggest choke points is the Sand Beach entrance to the Park Loop Road and Ocean Drive. The park is piloting an express lane for buses and emergency vehicles at that site.
The fare-free Island Explorer system has had 40,000 more riders so far this season. Approximately 30,000 of those riders are attributed to an earlier start for some routes prior to Memorial Day.
Maine Public spoke with Paul Murphy, executive director of Downeast Transportation who told the news agency, “The grant was held up when the new administration came into office. It was held up for quite a while, and we were getting signals that the administration was not so friendly to electric buses or to the idea of electric buses.”
The Island Explorer system is run through Downeast Transportation.
The grant was rewritten to focus on low-emission buses instead.
The U.S. Department of Transportation responded to Maine Public via email and wrote “under President Trump’s leadership, DOT is getting back to basics investing in big, beautiful infrastructure projects that improve American lives.”
“Under Secretary Duffy, hardworking taxpayer dollars will no longer fund Biden-Buttigieg’s costly DEI and climate agenda. If it doesn’t improve American lives, taxpayers won’t be footing the bill,” the department stated.
OTHER LINKS TO LEARN MORE
Acadia National Park Commission
HELP SUPPORT THE BAR HARBOR STORY
When we started The Bar Harbor Story, we didn’t know if anyone would read it. But you showed up. You shared. You sent tips. Now—over 400,000 views every month later—it’s clear: people here care about their community and each other.
We’ve kept everything free because news should never be out of reach, but every one of our stories takes time to write, and your support keeps The Bar Harbor Story going.
If you value our work, please consider a paid subscription, a founding membership, or a sponsorship.
It truly helps us cover one more meeting, tell one more story, shine one more light.
Even $5 a month makes a difference. Click here to become a one-time supporter now.
Thank you so much for being here.
Founding member information can be found here.
Have questions about sponsorships? Just send Shaun an email at sfarrar86@gmail.com, he’d love to hear from you.
It takes us a lot of time to go to meetings, right about meetings, listen to scanners and we would love to keep the Bar Harbor Story going. Your kind support makes that happen without us going bankrupt. So, thank you if you can help out. No worries if you can’t!
Make a monthly donation
Make a yearly donation
Choose an amount
Or enter a custom amount
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
Discover more from Bar Harbor Story
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.