Goals & Accomplishments

WHAT ARE THE GOALS OF THE BUS, PARA-TRANSIT & SHUTTLE PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS?

1. To provide year-around transportation for enrolled MadisonCollege students in the Madison, Fitchburg, Middleton, Monona & Verona areas.
2. To provide financial savings for students at MadisonCollege, in the form of less wear-&-tear on vehicles, reduced fuel & parking costs, etc.
3. To reduce traffic stresses within the City of Madison & surrounding communities.
4. To reduce congestion of vehicles & pedestrians in Madison College parking lots & the city parking structures.
5. To ease stress on the environment.  Metro Transit hybrid buses reduce exhaust emissions by 90%.  The city has nearly 2 dozen hybrid buses.

HOW HAS THE BUS PROGRAM IMPROVED OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS?

When the program began for Madison College students in 2000, only fall & spring semester bus rides were included.  Within the first few years of the program, the Student Senate worked to add summer services & then para-transit services. 

Greater accountability was established with specially designed passes in 2004 & with the installation of pass-readers in 2005.  The Student Senate negotiated with Metro Transit to install a digital sign at Truax to indicate arrival times of buses, thus allowing students to wait indoors for their buses.  

Over the years, Metro Transit has added more-&-more hybrid buses to their fleet, making transportation cleaner & quieter.  The Metro-Transit-Tracker service provides “real-time” bus arrivals for every stop deliverable right to student cell-phones & PDAs.  Students may sign-up for “rider alerts,” as well. 

Non-bus riders may sign-up to receive alerts regarding weather, snow emergencies, road construction, traffic hazards, etc.  See “alerts” at http://my.cityofmadison.com