NEWS
Route 80 gets a switch-up
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by Bridget Roby
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Persistent overcrowding on Madison Metro Route 80 this year has proven the recent changes to the campus bus line unsuccessful, despite the joint effort from University of Wisconsin Transportation Services, Madison Metro and Associated Students of Madison.
Since Sept. 4, buses on Route 80 have no longer stopped at Union South, and instead made an additional stop on the corner of Charter and Johnson streets in front of the Brogden Psychology Building.
Additionally, the extra bus that has traditionally only been added to the route during the winter has been up and running from the first day of school.
"The reason for this was to add capacity per hour that is passing by on the main campus," said Rob Kennedy, a manager from Transportation Demand Management. "Meanwhile, we're observing that there's quite a bit of crowding, which is quite amazing given that we've added quite a bit to the route."
Kennedy said the changes were also intended to shorten the travel time from the east to the west side of campus by about 4 minutes.
However, according to ASM Chair Gestina Sewell, many students who live in the Eagle Heights area have still experienced problems with the route.
"I've been getting feedback that students are being left at bus stops because the time [the buses come] doesn't match when people need to get someplace," Sewell said. "The Ride Guide had different times that weren't clear, and so students missed the bus."
Part of this problem could be attributed to what Kennedy said have been delays from pedestrian traffic and an overabundance of riders.
"It doesn't seem to matter how many buses we put on," Kennedy said. "The bus gets stuck there loading passengers, gets behind on schedule, which leaves more time for more people to accumulate, and then the next bus gets more behind."
According to a spokesperson for Madison Metro, the UW routes 80, 81, 82 and 85 are experiencing on average 80-90 passenger trips per hour.
"We only have really one street going through," Kennedy said. "So that's not many options. It's not an easy thing to solve."
Kennedy said any further changes to Route 80, however, are not in the near future.
"We're not going to react too fast to this," Kennedy said, as there has only been about one week of school so far this academic year. "Things are going to be different once things settle down, but we are not just waiting to find out; we are monitoring them and trying to come up with solutions."
Kennedy said TDM will be counting ridership on the bus this week, and will then be meeting to talk with Madison Metro soon after about further ways to improve the route.
Sewell said ASM also plans to stay up-to-date with Route 80's progress.
"We will be meeting with transportation services once a month and keeping communication open with Madison Metro about what's going on and why these things are happening," Sewell said.
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