The development of commuter rail, streetcars and more buses in a growing Dane County argues for a self-funding regional transit authority, transit planners say, and a bill being prepared for the Legislature would permit just that.
"The challenges we face in Dane County are becoming more and more regional in nature," said Madison transportation planner David Trowbridge, so a regional authority "does make sense."
Surveys for expanded Metro bus service are now in the works. And within the next year, work will begin on an environmental impact study on a commuter rail stretch between Middleton and East Towne Mall. If all of the pieces fall into place, the rail line could be a reality in five years and other lines could follow, Trowbridge said.
Meanwhile, a separate study is about to begin on a proposed streetcar system that would move people through Madison's central city.
Experience suggests that without a regional authority managing all the pieces, confusion could result, particularly as people begin trying to transfer from one mode of transportation to another -- from a railroad stop to a trolley line, for example.
In the Fox Valley, negotiating just the bus routes is already enough of a chore that one nonprofit office's entire mission is to help seniors and the disabled figure it all out.
Appleton-based Valley Transit operates the state's most extensive bus network, serving 13 municipalities.
Holly Keenan, transportation information coordinator for the Lutheran Social Services-funded "Making the Ride Happen" office there, fields questions from potential riders about which routes to take. The office is also a clearinghouse for complaints and for information on paratransit routes and van rides offered by private groups.
"The position was created because of the complexity. I am able to help people navigate through," said Keenan, who works out of a local senior center. Keenan said she gets as many as 150 calls a month from people with a mix of questions and complaints.
"It's streamlining the process. They need one place to call to voice their concerns," she said.
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New law ahead? Funding buses and trains separately from water, sewer and parks is nothing new in big cities like Chicago and New York.
But in Wisconsin, regional transit authorities that have the power to raise their own funds in the same manner as a school district or a municipality are something new.
The first of these was set up last year to oversee and fund the extension of Chicago's Metra commuter trains northward from Kenosha to Milwaukee.
> A board with representatives from Milwaukee, Kenosha and Racine, and Gov. Jim Doyle's office, has the power to collect $2 on every car rented in the region.
While southeastern Wisconsin opted for a rental car fee, a bill being prepared for the Legislature would allow any region to set up a transit authority. The authority could operate like a city council or school board, complete with the power to levy taxes.
Gary Goyke, who lobbies for the Wisconsin Urban and Rural Transit Association, said that and other state transit groups will begin drafting the bill in coming weeks.
The hope is to introduce it by May and to bring it back for consideration in the next legislative session next January, Goyke said.
He said a state law allowing regional transit authorities has actually been on the books for 20 years, but opponents never allowed a funding mechanism to be attached to it.
Rod Clark, director of the state Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transit, Local Roads, Railroads and Harbors, said adding another layer of government with taxing authority has kept past state administrations from backing the law's full authorization.
"In the past there has been reluctance from the Governor's Office to get out front on this issue. It has been difficult for advocates to get a hearing," Clark said. This will be the first time it has come up since Doyle took office, he said.
The bill would guide what a transit authority could look like and how it might operate. Citizens in the three-county Milwaukee-Racine-Kenosha area were not asked in a referendum whether they wanted a transit authority to be put into place.
Goyke said the statewide legislation would be different, requiring communities to pass a referendum before they could join a transit authority.
As they come on board, he said, a board would emerge with representatives from each participating community.
But no community would be forced to join.
Some communities might choose, instead, to contract with the transit authority for service in the same way that many suburban Dane County communities now contract for bus service with Madison Metro, which is owned by the city Madison.
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Cost, age incentives: There is evidence that high gas prices are spurring more people to take public transit, Goyke said.
And, as the baby boomers age, moving seniors around a region will also become an issue, as they gradually give up their car keys but still need to travel, Goyke predicted.
"If something isn't done they will be stranded without options," he said.
The reality of municipal budgets, where transit must compete with streets, sewers, parks and other services for limited dollars, makes the idea of dedicated funding for transit use appealing, said Madison Metro General Manager Catherine Debo.
A regional transit authority "offers the opportunity for some stability in funding, which is very important for maintaining and improving public transit service," she said.
In researching the potential, a group of Wisconsin transit industry leaders traveled last spring to Michigan, where a recent law allowing the creation of regional transit authorities has been embraced by some cities of varying sizes.