Thursday 10/05/2006

When Chuck Kamp becomes Madison Metro's new manager on Oct. 16, he'll inherit a system that's had its share of problems. Although ridership has risen steadily for five years, Metro has had to hike fares and propose service cuts to deal with budget shortfalls.

In his 2007 budget, Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz has pledged a $865,000 increase to Metro. This includes money for a police presence on some routes, in response to ongoing security concerns.

Kamp replaces Catherine Debo, who came to Metro in 2001 and whose contract was not renewed. For the last 15 years, he's headed Appleton's Valley Transit — a much smaller system than Madison's. Before that, he worked for the transit system in Washington, D.C.

Will you ride the bus to work?
Yes! I think it's easier to use the bus on a regular basis in Madison than it is in Appleton, quite frankly. There's obviously been a greater investment in transit here. My son, who's living in Madison right now, rides the bus to and from school. In the Fox Cities, we don't have bus service that goes to the high schools.

What do you think of the plans for streetcars in Madison, or for light rail in Dane County?
I don't know if I could say we absolutely should have light rail in Madison. We need to study the density of the population [and] the current infrastructure in place for rail. But I'm very encouraged that the questions are being asked.

Wait, how did you get hired by Mayor Dave if you're not in favor of streetcars?
(Laughs.) I'm in a learning mode. If one's open to possibilities, that's better than already having drawn a conclusion.

Valley Transit saw a 2% decline in ridership for the first six months of 2006. Most other state transit systems — including Madison's — had increases. What happened?
In the last three years, we had two fare increases. Last year's fare increase was not planned, but diesel prices increased. We didn't want to cut services, but we had to do something. We raised fares. So for the first time in three years, our ridership dropped.

How will you deal with that kind of dilemma in Madison?
The region needs to be part of a solution. In the Fox Cities, the community is beginning to say, maybe it needs to go further. A regional transit authority and some sort of regional taxation structure. No one likes to talk about a regional tax, but let's face it, you have to come up with the funding somehow. Most states allow regional transit authorities, but Wisconsin doesn't. I'd pose that challenge to the Legislature.