Madison Area Bus Ways

The Madison Area Bus Advocates (MABA) co-sponsored a forum for Madison’s 2019 mayor candidates on January 15, 2019.  The forum was videotaped by City Channel and can be seen at https://media.cityofmadison.com/Mediasite/Showcase/madison-city-channel/Presentation/71947066732c485db4aaf511f97bf7561d. The candidates were Mo Cheeks , Satya Rhodes-Conway , Paul Soglin , Raj Shukla , Nick Hart and Toriana Pettaway . The idea was to include the issue of transportation alongside other basic local issues of importance such as economic development, environmental sustainability, housing, criminal justice, racial equity, renewable energy and food access rather than dealing with it in a setting in which its relative importance could not be assessed. The primary is February 19. The top two candidates will advance to the general election on April 2. MABA does not endorse any candidate but does provide transportation-related information to the voting public. As a co-sponsor it asked: Mad...

After a couple decades, Madison is reviving at least two aspects of its public transportation system both good and bad. The good is that the city once more has a functioning Department of Transportation with a director. The bad is that citizen participation is being squelched at a time when alders need more, not less, ancillary help from constituents. Lest this seem overly “wonkish” and of little interest, suffice it to say that one of the major recommendations of the task force on equity in music and entertainment is for a more affordable and expansive bus service and public transit network. For those of us who depend on an affordable transit system to get around, how are we supposed to do anything akin to partaking of music or other entertainment when bus fares are so high and many buses run only once an hour after 6 p.m., even on weekdays? It is necessary for current and would-be bus riders to get involved – wade in the weeds and participate in decision making. No...

  Do you think that an interested “adult city resident” should be able to contact another “adult city resident”  who sits on a city government oversight committee advisory to the Common Council? Do you think a Dane County citizen has the right to know who is on a county government office’s  “working group” that is tasked with making policy recommendations for adoption by the larger council?  Are you suspicious when someone has special access to governmental decision making (and its purse) but does not have to provide basic contact or naming information in return for that access?  If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then welcome to the idea of good governance. Welcome too to the reality that our current government is less transparent. According to a recent article of the Simpson Street Free Press reprinted in the Madison Commons: In a unanimous 2017 decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that committees created by local govern...

                    RSVP of Dane County’s Bus Buddy Coordinators Susan Morrison, Heather Johnson, Bruce Verhelst, and  Angela Haskin One of the pleasant features of public transit is that it can provide riders a sense of community even as each passenger may be going to a different destination for a different reason. Some talk while others may simply acknowledge another’s presence with a nod, eye contact or some other form of nonverbal communication. As a favorite bus poem goes ( Express Route Madison ):   This bus is bound for Community.    It’s around the next bend.    Hop onboard.    Return your driver’s greeting.    Extend your smile across the aisle.    Let’s move it.    We’re all in.                           ...

New technology provides access and challenges to Madison’s bus system that must be adopted and broadcast if its regional Metro Transit is to be a viable transportation option moving forward. A major reason ride share companies such as Uber and Lyft are so popular despite their expense is that they made early use of smartphone technology that enables riders to solicit a ride from/to anywhere at any time and pay via a credit card or similar cashless electronic transfer. Public transit has the competitive advantage however, IF it used smartphone technology as adeptly. After all, most people would prefer to pay $2 instead of $10 for the same ride. Before the era of smartphones, transit riders had been pining for years for Metro Transit smart cards. Smart cards (such as Wiscards) are a special type of pocket-sized card embedded with an integrated circuit that enables the owner to load it with money. Every time it is used subsequently, the cost of the transaction is automatic...