Paul Soglin: Waxing America

Mass Transit 40 Under 40

Congratulations to Madison Metro’s own Transit Marketing Specialist,  Jessica Stammer,  for being named one of Mass Transit’s 40 Under 40! Jessica started with Madison Metro as an intern working on creating an in-house advertising program. Her many accomplishments, including creating a database of advertising information on buses and installing QR codes at more than 300 bus stops for real time bus arrival, led to her hiring in January of 2013.

Since, Jessica has taken over Metro’s employer bus pass program as well as their electronic communications, with astounding success. We are proud to have Jessica on hand and appreciate all she has done and continues to do to make our City better!

To read more about Jessica click on the link below:

http://www.masstransitmag.com/article/12089957/2015-top-40-under-40-jessica-stammer

Madison Metro's Hero Driver

Many of you may have heard about the Madison Metro Bus Driver, Tim Homann, who rescued a toddler from a busy street last week. Tim, a Metro bus driver of 18 years, was driving his usual route when he spotted a small toddler standing alone in the street near a parked car. Tim immediately pulled to the side and approached the toddler, asked her if he could pick her up and carried her out of the roadway, eventually locating her worried father. Had Tim not intervened, there could have been a very tragic ending to this story. People like Tim who are vigilant to their community in performing their everyday work continue to make Madison such a great place to live, work, and play.

Thank you for all that you do Tim!

See Tim in the news by clicking on the image below:

Keeping our Community Clean

Those of you who ride Madison Metro may have noticed a new feature to the Ride Guide: public service ads encouraging all Madison residents to do their part to keep the earth clean.

It all started when members of Brownie Troop 2464 emailed me to express their concerns about littering at bus stops and throughout the Madison community. In response, Madison Metro worked with Troop 2464 to create anti-littering ads.

Troop members went the extra mile by walking around their neighborhoods to pick up garbage. Additionally, they spent some time with State  Representative Chris Taylor to learn about laws that help keep the environment clean. All of their efforts went towards earning their Brownie Quest Journey Badge.

The efforts of Brownie Troop 2464 serve as an important reminder to each of us to do our part to keep our community clean. Thank you to Troop 2464 and Metro staff who made this effort possible!

Proterra Electric Buses

You may have seen an interesting vehicle on the streets of Madison recently. This vehicle is a Proterra Electric Bus.

These buses have many benefits. Beyond being more fuel efficient, they have zero emissions.  Compared to regular diesel buses, these electric buses reduce pollution emissions by 146,400 pounds annually. These buses also have 30 percent fewer parts than Metro's current buses. This would save Metro Transit $135,000 in maintenance costs over the life span of the bus. Additionally, Proterra describes the buses as whisper quiet!

As you can see here, the buses yield similar comforts on the inside, holding a maximum of 70 passengers with 40 seated and 37 standing!

While public transportation in itself has a profound impact on reducing emissions and environmental impact, vehicles like this up the ante. There are no immediate plans to bring these types of buses into Metro's bus fleet, but staff are excited to be reviewing this type of technology and hope to introduce this type of environmentally-friendly vehicle sometime in the future!

Safe Streets

Recently, I joined Madison Metro General Manager, Chuck Kamp for a press conference to encourage safe use of Madison streets. With cars, buses, bicycles, and pedestrian traffic, it is essential to practice safe habits when sharing the roads. The press conference included surveillance footage from Metro buses, in which distractions led to dangerous situations.  The footage was astounding and the close calls were incredibly frightening.

It is essential that those using roadways, sidewalks, or bike paths reduce these distractions and instances of multitasking to remain defensive against potentially dangerous situations. Metro buses have implemented a few features and practices including audible turn signals, raised mirrors, and review of footage from surveillance cameras to assist in making the streets safer. We all need to do our part to cut down on traffic accidents.

Check out a video of the press conference, including the surveillance footage, and some photos below:

 

 

Federal Funds to Help Madison Metro

It’s not every day that you learn the federal government is going to help purchase new buses, replace fare boxes and add 25 new bus stop shelters, but that was the case this week in Madison.

While in Washington D.C. this week I was very happy to learn that Madison is receiving $5 million as part of $920 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.  Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood reports that the funding will repair, rebuild and modernize the nation’s transit infrastructure.  In Madison, that means 14 new diesel buses.  All of the fare boxes on the city fleet will also be replaced, a much-needed upgrade.  Additionally the city will be able to provide 25 new transit shelters so our riders can get some relief from the elements while waiting for a bus.

This funding is especially exciting because ridership is increasing on Madison Metro, actually approaching all time records, and state funding for the service is declining.

Keeping lines of communication open between Madison and the federal government has been a priority for me and I actually learned about this competitive grant award while on my second trip to our nation’s capital to meet with lawmakers and U.S. Department of Transportation officials.  I hope these trips made a difference but credit also goes to Madison Metro for the great service provided.  Our bus service is something that is often taken for granted, but it truly improves the quality of life in Madison.