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BARRY ADAMS badams@madison.com 608-252-6148 OREGON A look at the odometer of Kari Houg's compact sport utility vehicle shows precisely why she favors commuter bus service. Houg, 43, has owned her 2005 Honda CRV for only about 13 months but the daily drive to her job in Middleton has helped her pile up over 22,000 miles on her vehicle. Throw in the cost of rising gas prices, oil changes and wear and tear, and Houg is ready to have someone else do the driving for the 35-mile round trip. "That's a lot of miles," Houg said. "If I could bike to work, I'd bike to work." Residents of Fitchburg, Middleton and the town of Madison have had Metro Transit bus service for about 30 years but there is at least some demand for service to other suburban Dane County communities. It comes at a time when the majority of the county's 453,582 people live outside of Madison and as studies are about to begin to look at two other mass transportation options. "There are thousands of people driving into Madison by themselves," said Oregon Village Board member Hans Noeldner, a mass-transit advocate. "What it comes down to is do we have enough people who believe in what they do matters." The options could include more than just bus service. A $2.5 million contract could be awarded next month to complete the environmental impact statement and begin to conduct preliminary engineering for commuter rail. The system would use existing rail corridors and initially go from Middleton, through Downtown and the Isthmus, to East Towne Mall. The system could later be expanded to the Dane County Regional Airport and McFarland and other county communities over time, according to plans by a consortium of agencies that includes the city of Madison, the county, UW-Madison and the state Department of Transportation. When first proposed, officials estimated the cost of the system at $200 million, but they think a 13-mile startup system could be completed for between $50 million and $100 million. Officials may also look at a hybrid system that uses rail corridor and tracks imbedded in the street surface, which would allow for more routes. "We're going to take another look at that," said city transportation planner David Trowbridge. "There are many transit options we're looking at here." The city is also scheduled to solicit bids this fall for a $300,000 feasibility study for the use of a streetcar system for the central city, Trowbridge said. Dane County Sup. Scott McDonell of Madison is co-chair of Transport 2020, which is studying transportation alternatives for the county and Madison metropolitan area. He believes getting people to leave their cars for mass transportation will always be a battle. He is confident, however, there will be enough people leaving their keys at home to make the systems viable. "Cars are still going to be the dominant mode of transportation but we'd like to have something in the mix other than just roads and a little bit of buses," McDonnell said. "It is expensive but not when you compare them to other investments we make around here." McDonell points to the $30 million Verona bypass and the $30 million spent on the Highway 51 overpass at Milwaukee Street on the city's East Side. The Highway 12 expansion project from Middleton to Sauk City has a $126 million price tag. Noeldner, who will spearhead an Oct. 10 meeting in Oregon with Metro Transit officials and Stoughton Mayor Helen Johnson, is supportive of commuter rail but said bus service can be started quickly and with little relative cost. Getting Stoughton to consider a commuter bus line would likely make the project easier. "We'll certainly look at what's being talked about," said
Johnson, who remembers when the city had train service. "We have no way
for people who don't drive to leave the city."
\ Service just added Verona is already on board. Buses began running to the city from Madison on Sept. 19 in large part because of Epic Systems. The medical software company is erecting a multi-building, multimillion-dollar campus on Verona's west side and is paying $51,000 to subsidize the pilot project bus service for the next two years. The company has more than 2,000 employees and 44 percent of those surveyed said they would consider taking the bus to and from work. Officials are also hoping Verona residents who work in Madison will also use the bus service. Officials in both Waunakee and Cottage Grove, two of the fastest growing communities in the county, say bus service doesn't appear to be on the near horizon because there hasn't been a demand. "As (traffic) worsens I think at some point that issue will have higher priority," said Waunakee Village Administrator Kim Wilde. "I don't think people would be interested in a bus if it didn't get them there any quicker." In Sun Prairie, leaders are considering a $45,000 a year program that would provide stops on Main Street, Windsor Street and the business park and have three runs in the morning and three in the afternoon. Ald. Richard Wanless said the money will be included in the 2006 budget but he doesn't know if it will remain. A survey of 967 residents asking them about bus service showed mixed results. About 55 percent said they were interested in commuter bus service but 34 percent said the city should not pursue public transit. Those favoring the service said they would use it for work and shopping trips to East Towne Mall or Downtown Madison and that it would provide transportation for teenagers and others who cannot drive. Those against the plan cited the burden on taxpayers, doubted many would use the service and had concerns that it would only add more people to the growing community. "People like convenience," wrote one respondent. "Instead of expanding bus service into Madison, expand the lanes on (Highway) 151." Houg, the Oregon woman who commutes to Middleton, said she hates seeing all the traffic. She doesn't know if people would be willing to change their lifestyle and likely add time to their trip to work. Many people, she said, are even reluctant to car pool.
"I really do think the apprehension is going to be the busy lives we live," Houg said.
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