I went to the city commission meeting and pointed out that the decision is made by the Transit and PARKING Commission. And that the parking side is in direct competition for downtown commuters with the transit (bus) side.

The city complains that "too many people drive to work, how can we get more of them to take the bus instead?" So to get fewer to drive and more to bus, they did their usual and raised bus fares but changed the complex parking fee schedule to actually reduce the cost of all day parking. And (or course) they didn't understand why people continued to drive instead of bus to downtown jobs.

I suggested that daytime parking rates be raised until they covered the bus deficit. Add a surcharge for parking in the lots before 10 a.m., make the first hour free, but increase the rate for each additional hour, etc.

That concept was too radical for them to even consider. So they went back to discussing how much to raise the bus fares and trying to figure out how to get more bus riders.

Now we have what Yogi Berra called "deja vu all over again."

Jim Blair, Madison
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