The Grand Redesign - First Thoughts, Part 2

Earlier this week I wrote about my first trips on the shiny, new Madison Metro bus network. Those Monday trips were in the midst of abbreviated service owing to the Juneteenth holiday. Today I rode the fully armed and operational bus system in all of its weekday commuter glory.

(Still lots of signs to be replaced.)

I started my day at the same time as I did under the old system and got home about 10 minutes earlier.

My walk to the A.M. stop seems to be about a minute shorter than it was previously. Not a big deal but this may work to my advantage on days when I zip out the door and realize that it's garbage day. I'm not sure which view I like better - the lake/park or the Voit field. I suspect I will miss seeing those turkeys that roam the field in the spring as the toms embiggen their tails. C bus was more or less on time. It has the Atwood Avenue construction to contend with but it was timely nonetheless. I stepped aboard to about half as many people as yesterday but it was running twice as frequently.

My transfer time to an A bus down on campus wasn't too long and the bus itself had fewer folks than Monday's standing room only affair. In the end, I got to my destination somewhere in the 7-10 minute range later than pre-redesign. I put this down to the transfer wait and the fact that the C goes down side streets whereas my previous route used more arterials.

(This stop will have a less confusing/cluttered sign soon.)

On my rides home, the A was a couple minutes early, methinks, and this led to a very short wait for a C bus down on campus. Maybe 3 minutes. I'm not sure if the C was early as well. Will these very short waits for a transfer continue or will I endure near misses?

I got home about 10 minutes earlier than before though this was partially because of a detour.

More or less the same total commute time. Less time to read, though, and I may have to start my journeys earlier if the new design continues to get me to work late. Things will continue to change as detours end and students return.

Random thoughts/observations:

-- a guy got on the bus this morning wearing a (Utili?)kilt. Neato!

-- while standing at the stop on campus this morning with 3-4 students, I noticed they all stared at their phones while I was engrossed in my surroundings. Generational difference, I guess.

-- I miss the woman who usually drove my morning bus. Always said, "Have a good one" when I alighted. She laughed a lot when chatting with this one cat who got on at the Square. Plus she was a very pretty lady.