Madison Buses – A System for Traditional Commuters

April 16, 2008 4:08 pm

Last night, I attended a 4 hour public hearing about the proposed bus route changes. This post is late this morning because I simply can’t do justice to the testimony and my 11 pages of notes. There was so many good comments it was hard to know what to exclude. Heres’s a few themes and incidents that stood out in my mind.

THANK YOU

First of all to Colin, the most hated man in the room. Most agreed he had a tough job and many thanked him.
To the bus drivers. Many thanks were offered to the drivers for putting up with alot of crap and yet maintaining a mostly friendly and helpful demeanor. Several felt they needed more recognition.
To the committee, for not only sitting, but listening attentively, through these often painful hearings.

Warning: It goes down hill from here.

ROOM SNAFU
Yet another meeting that was standing room only and people ended up in the hallway for much of the first part of the hearing. People were just crowded into the room. Alder Solomon rounded up some folding chairs so people would have a place to sit and several of the speakers helped Alder Solomon and Clear set up chairs for the speakers. Some of us just sat on the floor. Once again, and this isn’t the first time, several people with disabilities had a hard time navigating the room in their wheelchairs because there simply wasn’t enough room. And of course, it was hard to hear.

RAN OUT OF REGISTRATION SLIPS
When some people showed up, there were no registration slips left. They had to go copy some extra slips so everyone could register.

BUS ROUTES NOT TO BE CUT

If the last 19 bus is at 10:15 hospital workers won’t be able to get home to Allied Drive.
If the 22 and other northside routes stops running every half hour after 6:30 it will be harder for me to get to events at Warner Park Community Center and the Library.
There are huge gaps in service with the Route 13 bus that serves the Romnes Apartments (CDA Senior/People with Disabilities Housing) – No service of any kind on Olin Ave 12:41 – 6:39 in the evening heading to the downtown area. Southbound route shows no service to south transfer point 6:46 – 2:16 in afternoon. This route also serves Interfaith Hospitality Network, the swimming pool, the Huber Center, Alliant Energy Center etc.
The Demming Way loop on route 15 is vital for people to get to work in Old Sauk Trails, with these changes people have to walk or wait 20 minutes to catch the 73. Some people going there from the East side already have to make two transfers to get to work and this will increase their travel time from 1 hour to 1.5 hours to get to work.
Routes 56 & 57 need more than just commuter service.
Keep the 17 running between the North and East transfer points – with the changes the only way to get to the East Transfer Point is to go to the Square.
Expand route 29 to during the day hours, not just for commuters.
Keep the 3 running down Rutledge and Division.
38 is popular and it shouldn’t change from 15 to 30 minute service.

OTHER CONCERNS AND COMMENTS

Businesses consider bus routes when relocating and changing routes that affect those businesses impacts the workers and customers of those services.
Many people bought houses or condos (South, East and West sides of town) because of the bus service because they only have one car or no car.
Several people we proud of their one car families but are forced to reconsider due to constant cuts to service.
We need better weekend service for the transit dependent.
We need more late night services so people can get to/from 2nd and 3rd shift jobs and those who don’t work 9 – 5
Duh! We need an RTA. Given the service in Monona and Town of Madison is poor and City residents suffer as a result of those municipalities not wanting to pay for service.
It was pointed out by a few people that many people likely didn’t show up to the hearings that are impacted by the changes (less service after 6:30) because they are on the way to their 2nd shift jobs and some people had to leave the hearing early to catch their bus home.
Some of these changes will make it so people who have a choice won’t ride the bus.
The Northside is, in general, neglected. Everyone talks about the South, East and West sides of Madison, but the northside is a vibrant place with lots going on and bus service is needed by the residents there.
Some people said we need more bus service, but realizing that is not going to happen, they just pleaded not to make it worse.
The North transfer point is very isolated and cutting service at night is going to make it scarier to be there.
There should be circulator buses between the transfer points.
The meandering routes are an issue, our bus system should be more direct.
The bus system is not easy to understand, its complex and constantly changing and makes it difficult for riders.
The busses need to connect better, there are long waits for transfers.
Airport service is nice, but not what people need everyday and this needs to be a system that first works for the dependent riders.
A few people commented that bus service shouldn’t be looked at as something that needed to fund itself. If the police and fire and streets don’t need to fund themselves, why does the bus system. They are all basic services.
Wanted staggered buses from south side to give more options to get downtown.
Route 9 and 10 have some issues that need to be resolved, works for some, not for others.
Several people commented that we shouldn’t build neighborhoods without bus service. Bus service should be added as new homeowners move in because that is when they form their habits.
We should have smaller more fuel efficient buses for low ridership routes.
The bus stop move at East Towne (from near the building to the middle of the parking lot) is bad for people with visual impairments. This is even harder with the new silent (hybrid) cars and in the snow or high wind and rain (can’t hear) situations.
We all need to put pressure on the state and feds to fund transit.
Keep Tim Wong on the Transit and Parking Commission!!!
Buses should stop mid-route, they should go to the transfer points.
Wants a downtown circulator.
Lots of people left before they could speak.
The 6 doesn’t connect with anything on the square and its an automatic 20 minute wait.
Shouldn’t have to wait for 2 hours to get a bus on a Sunday.

STAND OUT MOMENTS FROM THE HEARING

A Metro driver showed up and said we needed to look less at computer models and ask the drivers more what they thought. She had a big long list of suggestions and asked the committee to think about connection times and when the drivers would get to take a break or go to the bathroom.
Ron Cook (Koch?) from Romnes Apartments spoke and afterwards there was alot of shuffing of chairs around the room. He had tried several times to ask Colin directly if 13 was still going to be cut. Since there was a lull, he asked one more time. “Are you still going to propose this change?”. I rather chagrined Colin finally conceded “probably not”
A woman who lives on the south side said if the 13 is cut, she can’t get to work at the Department of Revenue. She’s been riding the bus for 37 years. She used to be able to take one bus to get to work, now she has to take three so she takes a cab one way now. If she had to take a cab both ways, it will cost here $31/day.
An 80 year old woman (I still can’t believe she is that old!) talked about routes 56 & 57 being commuter routes and how you can go downtown at 8:45 but you have to wait until 3:08 to get back home. And if you don’t get out in the morning, you can’t leave the area via bus until 4:00. She can use paratransit, but then it costs her $8 – $10/day to run 3 or 4 errands.
A legally blind condo owner on the west side said she moved there three years ago because there was good bus service (50, 51, 57 & 58) and since then lost the 51 at night, took away part of the 57 and now these new service changes are bad. It makes it hard for people to get to jobs in the area. She suggested more employer contribute to the service like American Family and the Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection.
One speaker characterized the bus system as a slow, high fare, mono-modal system. It shouldn’t take 45 minutes to get downtown. These cuts in service make a bad system worse.
One person suggested we have a fully funded “Platinum City Bus System”.
Another homeowner testified that when they had C, M & Q service it was better. Now, they have lost 12, 27 and 47 service. They are considering buying a second car. If cuts to 13 happen it will take 40 minutes to get downtown from 1.7 or 1.8 miles away as opposed to the 20 minutes it takes now. When it is good weather, without kids or groceries and if you are healthy you could walk to Park St. for a faster ride, but not everyone has those options.
If 13 is changed a 10 minute ride to the library becomes a 40 minute ride. It’d be quicker to go to the downtown library. She biked to the meeting because she didn’t want to wait 55 minutes for the bus.
A woman who has ridden buses all over Europe and in other American cities says that their bus systems are easy to understand and after 5 years of being in Madison she is still confused by this system. And, going to the grocery story should not be an “whole afternoon ordeal”. She started out by apologizing for taking up time, but right now the busses run her life.
A person with a disability (I believe her mother said it was autism) who works on State Street doesn’t want to wait at night at the North transfer point and she asked the commission not to limit her freedom and independence. The somewhat ironic part was that she has actually won an essay contest with an entry about how great Madison Metro is.
A person quoted from the bible and then modified that passage by saying the “schedule should be made for the people and not the people for the schedule.”
A comment that metro should “build on what you have, don’t tear it down to build something different. In other words, the took away the 10 to build the 9, now they are adding back the 10 to the detriment of the 9. Oh, and the return of the 10 is hailed joyously.
A person talked about not being able to go to sporting events because there weren’t buses to get back home unless you left the game early.
If the 3 is changed, people have to cross Atwood where there is not light at the busiest time of the day.
A guy testified that he can’t get to work early and he has to tell his boss that he can’t come in because the bus doesn’t get there on time. He also suggested that we speed up the annexation of the “Town of Madison Mess”
Said that the announcement said they were adding service, but that’s not true, especially on the northside. People don’t have a choice and need to ride the bus and the choices are even more limited with the loss of Women’s Transit Authority. She also had concerns about people being stranded at the North Transfer Point and suggested that Wiggy’s become a family serving business.
A route 38 rider noted that the meeting was less crowded and more on time than the 38, but that generally life was good as a commuter with a free University pass – the service is fast, frequent and free. He can get 10 busses between 7:00 and 9:00 in the morning. He’s a choice rider and would be an idiot not to use the bus. However, for alot of people its not that good. Just like when the fares were increased, regular commuter riders who have good choices are kept whole and those who are transit dependent take it on the chin.
A woman testified that if her bus route was cut, she would have to take a 50 center per hour pay cut because she couldn’t get to work on the weekends and so she would have to work different hours. She’s a third shift worker.
A person from the Southwest side of Madison has a hard time figuring out the bus. And even though they live by Gammon they can ride their bike downtown faster than the bus, and they are not an avid bike rider.
A new bus rider wants to have a revival, riding the bus has changed his life! He loves the bus and wants more people to ride. He also happens to for Marshall Erdman and he talked about good planning and how buses play into good planning. He also talked about how it is an economic development issue because employees need to get to work and daycare. Buses are so great they can cure everything, racism and maybe even cancer! 🙂
Alder Skidmore doesn’t ride the bus cuz he can’t get to work on the bus. Concerned about the 15 loop, but also he has senior housing that has poor or no bus service and he has constiutents that can’t get to and from their 2nd and 3rd shift jobs. He urged Council members to fully fund the buses. Alder Webber reminded him he was preaching to the converted.
Alder Cnare was there to thank them for the pilot test of the route 14 bus. Noted it was important for new neighborhoods to form good habits and getting bus service there early would help.
Alder Kerr sent a message through Alder Rhode-Conway that she was “abosolutely opposed to cutting route 13” and asked “the hearing is tonight, how did I not know about this!”
Alder Rhodes-Conway talked a bit about the long range plan report and problems with service to the north side.

You know, there were so many excellent comments, this doesn’t really capture it, but . . . it’s a flavor of what happened. Thanks to everyone who showed up to speak!