More low-income city residents will have access to bus passes after Madison Metro Transit raised the monthly number from 300 to 450 to meet rising demand.

On the first of every month, Metro Transit provides 300 bus passes for low-income
individuals. In order to purchase a pass, people fill out a form indicating their income is at or below
150 percent of the national poverty line, Madison Metro spokesperson Mick Rusch said.

“There is a large demand for the passes,” Rusch said. “We often sell out the first day and rarely
make it to the third day.”

Almost 100 people who desired passes last month from just the Madison Metro Transit Center were turned
away because the passes were sold out, Rusch said.

The additional funding Metro Transit has received will allow the company to distribute 150
additional passes on the 15th of every month.

“One-hundred-fifty will help out a great deal and reduce the number we have to turn away,” he said.  “No one turned away
is the goal.”

He said having passes available in the middle of the month means people will not have to wait an entire month to try to get a pass. They will now only have to wait two weeks to have
access to reliable transportation again, he said.
Ald. Larry Palm, District 15, a member of the Homeless Issues Committee, said
transportation is a major issue for many low-income individuals.

“Without a car to get from place to place, the bus is left as the most viable option,” Palm said. “The
program is designed for individuals with a job to be able to keep that job and have dependable
transportation.”

This year’s funding for the expansion of the program is coming from a contingent reserve
created by tax dollars for projects that were not previously planned, Palm said. He said these projects need to be covered.

A change to this year’s plan allows more than one person in a household to obtain a pass, Palm added. He said previously, only one member was allowed, which led to issues such as prohibited sharing of bus
passes.

The passes are restricted to those 18 years of age or older because many youths obtain passes
through the school district, he added.

Both Rusch and Palm said they do not see the increase in passes causing any issues. Regarding possible problems such
as overcrowding, Rusch said more than 14.6 million rides are given yearly in Madison. An extra 150
passes, he said, will not affect the capacity.

Palm also said Metro Transit has acknowledged previous overcrowding issues and that it is adding
more buses to heavily-traveled routes.

“We will keep monitoring to improve. We understand this is important to the community and
want to do our part to improve the community,” Rusch said.

The passes are sold for $27.50, which at the program’s inception was 50 percent of the normal monthly
pass. Currently, nondiscounted monthly passes sell for $58, according to Rusch.

The passes are available at three locations in Madison. Passes are distributed at the Metro Transit
Center on East Washington Avenue, the Dane County Job Center on Aberg Avenue and the City
of Madison’s Treasurer’s Office located on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

“We do get a lot of requests for this program and are glad that Alder Palm
championed it,” Rusch said. “We wish we could provide more but it is a funding issue for us. We are doing our
best with the resources available.”