A new bus line expected to start running next year will carry passengers between Portsmouth and Manchester. The state has selected Flight Line Inc. to operate the daily east-west service, with funding coming from the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program.

Flight Line owner Jaimie Dowd said he hopes to have the service in full swing by next spring, if not earlier. Details are still being negotiated, but Dowd said the line will start at the Portsmouth Transportation Center at Pease Tradeport and connect with Manchester Airport and the Manchester Transportation Center, with hourly departures 20 hours a day, seven days a week.

“A lot of the volume will be generated between the Portsmouth Transportation Center and Manchester Airport,” he said.

The cost of a trip from Portsmouth to the airport will be $19, Dowd said, while a one-way commuter trip from Portsmouth to Manchester will be $8.  

The service could also include stops at Park & Ride lots on Route 101 in Hampton and Epping. Flight Line will also offer “feeder passenger” service, shuttling commuters from their homes to the bus stop. Dowd said he has also been in conversations with the University of New Hampshire about bus services for students. 

Flight Line currently offers services between Manchester Airport and Logan International Airport in Boston along Interstate 93. He said he will consider providing a connection between the I-93 route and the Seacoast.

The service will use 15-passenger Dodge Sprinter vehicles, which Dowd described as “upscale vans” with individual seating, full handicap access and a center aisle. He said the size of the vans is intended to maximize efficiency, thereby meeting the goals of the CMAQ program.