As I’m sure you can tell, most Madison residents are fuming mad about the rise in bus rates, and understandably so. For those who use the bus daily, this will be an extra $360 a year for residents who already have a strained budget. Furthermore, I’m sure they don’t appreciate the increase as a use for making up a deficit without looking at all options for cuts. But one thing still bothers me😕

“Several residents noted the increase could cause a decrease in ridership, causing negative effects on the environment by forcing more people to use cars and on the economy by forcing people to spend less money on other things.”

While people may have many reasons to stop taking public transportation, the price saving nature of driving a car into the downtown area isn’t one of them.?

Here’s a case study: Let’s take our photographer, Lukas.?For the time being, let’s treat Lukas like he’s not a student and doesn’t have an ASM Bus Pass. Lukas takes a bus from East Towne Mall to the Badger Herald everyday. That’s a distance of 6.5 miles. If Lukas isn’t really thinking hard about his finances, he’ll pay a bus fare to and from work. That’s 3 bucks a day. Let us assume he also comes in every weekend day.?

So that’s about 100 bucks a month.?

Now, let’s assume he got a car for his birthday. Your average car in 2004 got about 24 MPG. If Lukas drives that everyday in and out of town, that’s about a gallon every two days. If you follow our gas prices today, that comes out to about 32 bucks a month. If you are talking 4 bucks, like it was this summer, then it’s about 60 bucks.?

Lukas would be wise to drive, right? Well, only if he 1) has a parking space downtown and 2) pays the standard fare everyday. If Lukas is renting a parking space downtown, he can expect to pay anywhere between 70-140 dollars a month. That pushes the cost of having a car for Lukas to anywhere from 100 — 200 a month.

?If he’s lucky, it’s could be a cost neutral choice. But likely, it won’t be. But with the extra 30 dollars a month, it’s gotta be more expensive to take the bus! Only if he doesn’t think about how often he takes the bus.

There are 31 day passes for the bus, which cost 47 dollars each. Let’s assume the price increases pushes them up to 60. That’s 60 bucks a month to ride the bus, nearly half of they would pay for daily fares. and about equal to what it would cost to drive into town with a parking space with 4 dollar gas.?

So let’s review theoretical monthly costs:

What am I missing here?

And that’s not even considering the base cost of a used car. Thank god Lukas got his as a gift. And thank god Lukas lives in a state that doesn’t require insurance to drive.?

So, with all that in mind, why, oh why, would car use increase?

Many Madisonians are ruled by their conscience rather than their pocketbooks. And many ride the bus because it’s environmentally sound. But of course, if they do it to be green, pocketbook issues shouldn’t be the issue, right??

So, unless a majority in Metro users are middle-class environmentalists with a car and little rationality, It doesn’t make sense for increased bus fares to result in more congestion. Of course, maybe we have more of those people than I think. After all, it is Madison.