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Flickr Photo Credit: Scumfrog

By David A. Dickinson 

Recently I had a government job offer which required me to attend an interview in Boston.  This touched off a debate that seems to come up a lot in the Aroostook (or as we locals say, “the County”); What is the cheapest way to go from here to there? 

Boston is the true hub of the region nationally; to go to the rest of the world from Northern Maine, one must first transit Boston.

    Basically, four options are available; bus, aircraft, personal auto, or a combination.  I knew that, to drive, I would most likely have to stay a night, either in Portland (Maine!) or Boston.  But to fly would be optimal; I could leave my vehicle at Presque Isle airport fly down, do the interview, and fly back all in the same day. Heck, I might even be home in time for dinner, or supper as we say in the County!

   The next mental step would be to compare the price of each excursion.  Lets say I opted to drive from Saint Froid Lake in Northern Maine, stay one night in Portland, bus down to Boston to avoid suicidal urbanite drivers, do the interview and bus back.  Expenses would break down as follows; 

1. Gas to Portland and back; round trip distance would be 610 miles. My Mitsubishi Outlander gets a non-stellar 20 mpg. This computes to 30.5 gallons. Times that by about three dollars a gallon and you get  $91.50.

2. Round trip bus ticket with Concord Trailways: $20

3. One night at the Days Inn in Portland: $60

4. Taxi in Boston to the Fedral buildingand back to South Station: about $20 total.

5. Meals: Lets say I totally spurge and have five meals for $20 a piece for $100 total.

6. Tolls: About $10.

This comes to $301.50. Whew! A lot to spend on a one hour interview! And thats US dollars, not pesos or rupees or anything… I wonder what flying costs?  I would even be willing to pay a little more, say $350 tops.  I would just call the difference “aggrevation pay…”

   A quick search on Expedia dashes my hopes; a round trip ticket costs $459! And thats not including the fact I would still have to drive to Presque Isle (about 60 miles) get a taxi from Logan airport, and maybe still eat a meal along the way.  Checking with the carrier US Airways yields yet a higher price: $613. By way of comparision, our recent tickets to Guayaquil, Ecuador from Newark only cost in the $500s.

    In the end, I chose the Drive/Bus combo option. I’m just dismayed (and I’m terribly dismayed), when people state as was published recently in a local paper, that, flying from Aroostook is the way to go.  Incomes aren’t the highest in the state up here; its a travesty to see the folks who can least afford it pay the most. Lets see some truly economical mass transit available in America, and I’ll gladly park and ride!               

Posted on June 29th, 2007 by astroguyz
Filed under: Carving Out the Cash