Interest in extending Madison Metro bus service to the far reaches of the county is suddenly exploding.
Last September, the city of Verona and Epic Systems inked a deal with Madison Metro to bring bus service out to Epic's new Verona campus.
In December, nearly 1,000 riders hopped on the express commuter loop that runs between Metro's west Madison transfer point and Epic, said Verona City Administrator Larry Saeger. More riders are expected as Epic continues to build its campus.
Verona joins Middleton, the town of Madison and Fitchburg, which have been linked to Madison by Metro for years. Each community has a separate service contract with Metro and reimburses the city of Madison for the cost.
Monona also has commuter service to downtown Madison through Laidlaw Transit Service.
A host of other communities may not be far behind.
A joint committee of Stoughton, Evansville, Oregon and the towns of Oregon, Rutland and Dunn plan in coming weeks to send out surveys to gauge local interest in linking to Metro.
Cross Plains plans a similar survey this spring.
And in Sun Prairie, a survey of residents last year showed "some receptivity" to the idea. It is still under discussion, said Assistant City Administrator Margaret Powers.
Population growth may explain some of the interest. Since 1990, Dane County has added nearly 90,000 new residents, bringing its estimated population to 456,000 in 2005, with about half living in the suburbs and half in Madison. Between now and 2020 Dane County will add another 70,000 new residents, the state Demographic Services Center says. About half will settle in the suburbs, keeping the population evenly split between Madison and outlying areas, the state says.
Many of those new residents will be workers and elderly who could use public transportation to get around, if the system was convenient enough to get them out of their automobiles.
By 2020, the county is expected to have 6,000 additional people - potential motorists - between ages 16 and 59. And, the county is expected by then to have about 46,000 additional residents over the age of 60, according to the state Department of Workforce Development.
Oregon Village Board member Hans Noeldner said more than 2,100 Oregon residents are now believed to be regularly commuting to Madison. And, about 400 are regularly commuting to Oregon from Madison.
Stoughton Mayor Helen Johnson said the 2000 census showed that more than 2,000 residents then worked in Madison. And up to 600 Madison residents worked in Stoughton.
Similarly, Evansville Mayor Janis Ringhand said up to 60 percent of Evansville workers commute daily into Dane County.
Julie Hermanson, who runs AWARE, a program that aids low income, elderly and disabled Evansville residents, said a bus to Madison "would be a golden opportunity."
"Transportation is a major issue for many people we help," she said. "Transportation to Madison would open up a world of additional job opportunities."
In Verona, half of the initial $50,000 annual cost of moving employees by bus is being borne by Epic, the other half by a two-year federal "reverse commute" grant. To get the grant Verona had to show that commuters would use the bus to get out to Verona from homes in Madison. Saeger said he believes there are other federal pots of money that Verona could tap once that grant expires.
Published: February 23, 2006