When Improvement Means Back to 85% of Normal
Weekday Service Beginning August 23, 2020 When Improvement Means Back to 85% of Normal Susan De Vos and Yvonne Schwinge Beginning August 23, 2020 Madison Metro Transit resumed a roughly 85% level of regular service (revenue hours), a huge improvement over to its much leaner "essential" routing that began near the end of March. At that time, Madisonians got to see how essential it is to have a public transit system that continues to operate, even during a pandemic, and even in a much-reduced form. While ridership may have fallen to less than a tenth of what it had been in the span of only a few days, that one-tenth were essential travelers who enabled the rest of us to stay Safer at Home . Buses were run on a modified Saturday schedule with a maximum of 15 passengers. They were disinfected thoroughly at least once a day and everyone was strongly encouraged to wear masks. Passengers who could, were required to enter through the back door. No fare was collected.