Full Saturday bus service is the next logical step for the Twin Cities, local transit officials say.

“When we started offering Saturday service, it was kind of a test,” said Marsha Bennett, transit coordinator for the Lewiston-Auburn Transit Committee. “Now we know, and it’s been a success. If you look forward to the next logical expansion, it’s adding full Saturday service.”

Citylink, the bus service operated by the Lewiston-Auburn Transit Authority, began offering limited Saturday service last year. It included four routes: up College Street in Lewiston to the Auburn Mall, from downtown Auburn to the mall, a New Auburn route and a shuttle along Auburn’s Center Street shopping area.

“But right away, when those services were starting, we heard the comments from many people: ‘What about us?'” Bennett said. “They are out on Main Street or Sabattus Street and they wanted some Saturday service, too.”

The transit committee stopped short of recommending the full Saturday service in its budget request to the two city councils this week.

The transit committee’s current budget asks for $352,724 for the 2011-12 fiscal year, which begins in July. That’s a $71,636 increase over the current budget — an additional $35,818 from each city.

Phil Nadeau, Lewiston deputy city administrator and chairman of the LATC, said about $10,000 of the increase is for projected increases in fuel costs. Last year, the committee used its reserve fund balance to reduce costs. That money is not available this year and that accounts for the bulk of the cost increase.

“Without reserves being factored in, we are left with a significant increase to both cities,” Nadeau told the Auburn City Council. “It’s just that we’re so skinny right now that without that reserve, we’re afraid we’d have to come back to both councils mid-year to ask for more money, and that drives everyone crazy. We thought it made more sense to have that discussion now.”

Adding full Saturday service would cost each city an additional $31,000. For that, Citylink would offer Saturday service identical to Monday through Friday service on all nine routes.

“We wanted them to see the option,” Bennett said. “We’re not expecting them to fund it, but if they do fund it, we’d be ready to move forward.”

Councils from both cities are expected to settle their budgets for shared agencies within the next week. Each council is scheduled to discuss the matter at separate Thursday night meetings.

staylor@sunjournal.com