Keep the Option of Paying Fares with Cash
As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, we must prioritize confronting ongoing challenges, including housing affordability, transit access , and resiliency in the face of a changing climate. -- From April 13, 2021 memo to city Department on Division Heads on Proposals for the 2022 Capital Budget (https://www.cityofmadison.com/finance/documents/budget/2022/capital/CapitalMayorMessage.pdf; bold added) How accessible would you consider the transit system if a new or occasional would-be bus rider were denied a bus ride because she/he/they tried to pay the fare in cash? Madison's Metro Transit just temporarily suspended its recommendation that its fare collection go cashless. For how long is anyone's guess. It had been proposing for months that fares for a new Bus Rapid Transit line be cashless from the outset and that the regular buses go cashless within five years. That is wrong. Metro must keep a cash option . The Money Conundrum Metro's tone-deaf proposa...