ELLSWORTH, Maine — Downeast Community Partners (DCP) will end its transportation program by Sept. 30, marking the closure of a decades-old service that connected residents of Hancock and Washington counties to medical care, groceries, and other essentials.

The nonprofit said the decision followed years of dwindling volunteer drivers, declining ride requests, and unsustainable financial strain, according to a news release. At its peak in the early 2000s, the program had nearly 70 drivers, most of them volunteers. By this year, only two remained.

In 2018, the program provided more than 72,000 rides covering 2 million miles, the release said. By July 2025, trips had dropped to fewer than 900. Non-emergency medical rides, once the bulk of the program, have increasingly been filled by othe

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