Madison Area Bus Ways

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...