For Maximus Who?
Metro experienced a 3.2% ridership increase in 2018. With 13.2 million rides, this is the first ridership increase since 2014. For the people of Madison and its suburban transit partners (Fitchburg, Middleton, Town of Madison and now Sun Prairie) it might seem obvious that the primary purpose of a locally-owned and operated public bus system is to address the transit needs of the people in the service area. They pay extra property tax to support it, whether indirectly through their rent or lease, or directly on an owned home or business. Presumably, that would mean that before allocating TIF (tax incremental financing) or other money to facilitate the travel and parking of suburbanites from neighboring communities into downtown or other parts of Madison, city funds would first be oriented toward the transit needs of people who live 24 hours a day every day of the week in the service area itself. Buses would run frequently. Routes and stops would stay constant with rare e