Madison Area Bus Ways

Source: p. 387 of City of Madison 2024 Adopted Budget retrived from htpps://www.cityofmadison.com.finance/documents/budget/operating/adopted/Adopted2024.pdf on May 1, 2024. The past few years of pursuing federal funding has borne fruits in 2023. …This funding has been for Capital Budget projects, not Operating Budget. – (p.9 of MDOT’s 2023 Annual Report available at https://madison.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=12785478&GUID=9747A550-CDA8-4AD1-BCFA-550167AEF761 ) Borrowing in Transit Susan De Vos | August 3, 2024 Introduction Public borrowing has changed dramatically in the last half century. Not so long ago, good money management meant proactive saving rather than borrowing. However, people increasingly found borrowing sensical when it provides investment returns many times the amount initially borrowed. Public transit on average has a return of $5 for every $1 invested. Since the early 1980s however, federal funding for transit in specific has been limited to c...

Trams in Madison? January 20, 2024 | Sean Howell Hey Madison residents! Let's embark on a visionary journey to enhance our public transportation system with the introduction of trams. With our city experiencing growth, the need for an efficient and community-tailored transit system becomes increasingly apparent. Trams emerge as the missing puzzle piece, promising a range of benefits that could revolutionize our daily commute and elevate the Madison experience. Picture trams artfully weaving through the heart of Madison, following a carefully planned route that connects key spots where we live, work, and play. Let's call it the "Madison Metro Loop." Commencing at Capitol Square, the central hub of our city, trams could gracefully traverse State Street, establishing a vital link between the vibrant downtown area and the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. This route alone has the potential to significantly improve the daily commute, particularly for students an...

Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Transportation Services, Division of Facility Planning & Management My Experiences with Madison Metro Transit as a UW-Madison Student Paige Gahagan | November 15, 2023 Like many students attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I rely heavily on the bus transportation of Madison’s Metro Transit. I live on the outskirts of campus and take the bus to class every day. Now a junior, I got my first bus pass at the beginning of my sophomore year. It was easy. I simply picked one up at Union South after swiping my Wiscard. Before the bus system was redesigned, I had an easier time getting to and from class. I could take more routes (8, 15, or 70) while many of the new routes (A, B, D, F, G, J and O) are of no use to me. They do not serve the southeast side of campus where many students reside. Rather, I rely heavily on Routes 38 and C. However, the 38 only comes every 30 minutes, not particularly useful since you can miss it wh...

The Case for Still Masking on Madison Metro in 2023 Dan Fitch | October 4, 2023 Bus Stop in Downtown Madison in 2022 -- COURTESY Will Cushman We all know that it feels like many Americans have given up on masks in public, but the bus is one place in Madison that you can reliably see some folks masking up. What's the science behind masking on transit? And why might you want to consider joining those who mask on public transit, and encouraging others to mask up?. Attitudes in our society seem to have a steady, almost magnetic drift toward "COVID is over." But a quick look at the wastewater maps , especially right here in Wisconsin , will show that COVID is certainly not over; it's just killing fewer people than at its height. It's still harming folks and disabling them. As I write this, my partner is quarantining with a nasty case of COVID that has left her unable to do much of anything for days. Deaths due to COVID in the US fell below 1000 a we...

Experiencing the Post-COVID Transition on a Madison Metro Bus Tianyu Zhao | September 28, 2023 Although COVID-19 seems to have been either forgotten or normalized by many people by 2023, it can still be serious for some, elders especially. Furthermore, those who may have little risk themselves should still take care not to spread the disease. Such thoughts prompted me to wear a mask while on the bus, to see how people reacted, and to see if anyone else still wore a mask. First Day > On the first day, I started my journey at the bus stop near the Nicholas Recreation Center on the UW campus. While waiting for the #80 bus with others who were mostly students going to class, I noticed that no one else wore a mask. That made me feel a bit isolated. Although the bus stop used to have a sign telling passengers that they were required to wear a mask while on the bus, such a sign was no longer there. Nor was there a sign on the bus. This makes sense since most people...

Construction Disruption: A Day in the Life of a Madison Metro Transit Rider Krishna Nukala | July 23, 2023 The start of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system construction project may mean that Madisonians will have greater access to public transport, reduced commute times, and more equitable and efficient bus services. However, ever since the start of the BRT construction project in April 2023, transit riders have borne the brunt of road closures, lane closures, bus detours and closed sidewalks. This disruption has led to longer wait times at stops and reduced frequency of buses. “Even though the BRT project was meant to encourage the use of public transport in the future, the fallout from how its construction has been handled lately will only lead to increased frustration among transit riders and eventually reduced ridership”, said Vaibhav Vemuganti, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a transit rider. A Univerity of Wisconsin Madison Metro ...