I am fortunate to have access to reliable automobiles, but there are many people in the Madison area who cannot afford a car for work or personal travel. Therefore, Madison needs better bus routes to provide people with access to safe transportation services.
I remember, when I was in college and lived closer to UW Madison campus, I used the Madison Metro bus service. Even after I purchased my first car, I often took the bus to go from home to the campus area for classes. I found the bus service to be good, and the drivers were very friendly individuals.
For years, I have not used the Madison Metro service, except for occasional short rides within the campus area. But I do recognize the fact that our city needs more buses and expanded routes to cover the transportation needs of Madison residents.
The city is expanding as more and more people are moving into the Madison area. While many of the people arriving in Madison are young professionals with good jobs with decent pay and benefits that allow them to have good cars, there are many city residents who are struggling financially and cannot afford personal automobiles, or they struggle to pay high prices for gasoline. Therefore, a strong bus service with more routes is essential to help people reach various destinations with ease.
Madison must improve its bus service and create more routes to ensure safe and reliable transportation for residents.
Not only Madison, but much of the U.S. has poor public transit. Having experienced the excellent transportation system in Germany has spoiled us. It’s a system that balances both automobile use (Germans are car fanatics) and a public transit system that makes getting around a breeze. Of course, unlike Americans, Germans know how to walk and ride bike as well, which compliments everything. Sadly, having not been integrated into the U.S. culture or infrastructure, the economic hurdles to increasing public transit, both inner and inter-city, are enormous. Even if available, ridership would likely not be at levels that would make it sustainable without massive public subsidies.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Fred. Transportation policy continues to be a top priority in many communities and there is a lot of work left to do, in this area.