NEWS
Metro proposes changes to routes 80, 9, others near campus
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by Taylor Cox
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
A laundry list of
route changes proposed to improve the efficiency of the Metro Transit bus
system sparked much debate between unsatisfied citizens and bus drivers during
Tuesday’s public hearing.
In order to
maintain spending within the city’s budget, Colin Conn, scheduler for Metro,
said the staff must prioritize issues that are urgent versus issues that are
important, like scheduling and capacity concerns.
“That may be
something that we are unable to get to,” Conn said regarding concerns over
overpopulated buses.
A proposal to
redirect route 80 would alleviate capacity issues for University of Wisconsin
students getting around campus, Conn said. The route intends on reducing travel
time between the UW Hospital and Memorial Union by not serving Highland,
University or Walnut south of Observatory.
“The proposed
change could provide the same level of service with fewer buses or increase the
level of service with the same number of buses,” Conn added.
Also affecting the
UW campus in particular would be the elimination of route 9, which would be
replaced by a new route 10 that would run longer and include the Bassett
neighborhood.
Route 6, running
from the east side of Madison through downtown and to the west side, was hit
with the most drastic change proposals.
“We have 144
minutes to get a bus from the West transfer point all the way out to [the east
transfer point] and back to the west transfer point if it’s to maintain a
schedule,” Conn said.
Several years ago,
the city took part of route 30 and put it on route 6 without increasing the
amount of buses, in order to save money, Conn said. They intend on reversing
this change to have a “reallocation of time to allow the buses to operate at
slower speeds and allow drivers to drive at a more reasonable pace and increase
their amount of recovery time out at East Towne Mall,” he added.
While many
residents urged bus promptness, changes in bus routes remained the dominating
topic of discussion.
Madison resident
Ron Cook said there are 167 apartments in the building he lives in on Olin Avenue,
equivalent to 10 city blocks of homes on nearby Olin Avenue and Hickory Street.
“The route 13
changes that are proposed [result in] no service of any kind on Olin Avenue between
12:41 in the afternoon and 6:39 in the evening,” Cook said. “That’s six
straight hours of no service heading to the downtown area.”
While similar
debate developed over rerouting and cancellations for routes 18 and 38, bus
drivers verbalized their concern for the “unrealistic scheduling” Metro has
proposed.
“While it may look
good on paper, as soon as you start to drive it, it never works,” said Sharon
Williams, bus driver for Metro.
Williams urged
riders to consider the “human factor” of bus driving before jumping to schedule
changes.
“As riders, you
should ask if drivers have enough time to stretch, to eat, to use the restroom,
and I can say the answer is no for a lot of the rides,” Williams added.
Metro General
Manager Chuck Kamp said citizens unable to attend the public hearing should
call Metro with any comments or suggestions about rerouting proposals by April
18. Those interested should call 266-4466 or write to 1101 E. Washington Ave.,
Madison, WI, 53703.
Anonymous (April 16, 2008 @ 8:01am):
Want to relieve congestion? Reverse the 80 so that it comes down Bascom rather than up. When I'm late getting to the hospital 9 times out of 10 it's because someone shoves me to the side so they can secure their spot for the long ride up Bacom. It's sad they're so lazy and makes me hate humanity all at the same time!
Anonymous (April 16, 2008 @ 9:20am):
Re: 8:01 Or just eliminate the stop at the top of Bascom. 90% of those idiots who get on the bus at Memorial get off at the top of Bascom. If people had to ride all the way to the bottom of Social Science, they would opt to hike the hill.
Anonymous (April 16, 2008 @ 12:51pm):
i agree that there are lazy people on campus that aren't willing to walk up bascom, but then there's people like myself, who have lung conditions or other physical conditions that prevent us from walking up bascom, i want to be able to take the bus so i can get to class on time and safely.
Anonymous (April 16, 2008 @ 11:03pm):
so when are they going to bring back the stop at union south? THAT would be useful.
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