Madison Metro Transit (or should that be Madison's Metro Transit?) recently announced new bus service to Monona and Verona.
The service to Monona sees routes G and L losing their no stop zones along Monona Drive and Broadway while an hourly route 38 will go through the town's Civic Campus before heading to its eastern terminus, the Dutch Mill Park & Ride. Along the way it will pass by the Aldo Leopold Foundation and the Edna Taylor Conversation Park. Hopefully some folks can take advantage of the new service and go do some hiking and those lovely parks. Unfortunately, the 38 only run during the week so, if I want to take a hike at either of them, I'll still be biking or driving.
On the other hand, I can now take a bus to Viet Hoa to get my tom yum soup paste or grab an ice cream in Paradise or a loaf of Pan de Muerto at Monona Bakery and Eatery.
The new service to Verona is also, sadly, weekday only. The D2 route will continue on to Verona instead of terminating on McKee Road at Maple Grove. The article I have read, which seems to be an edited version of the Wisconsin State Journal one, which is paywalled, says: "Route D2, which currently provides peak hour service in the early morning and late afternoon, will expand to regular daytime service."
But this is not true - just look at the D2 schedule. It runs every 30 minutes all day, not just at peak hours. It would be nice to be able to take the bus to downtown Verona on the weekends but this extension of the D2 is for Epic employees, in the main.
A couple other Madison public transit items.
First, Steven Vance of Streetsblog Chicago took a ride on our BRT and wrote about it: "Taking a ride on Madison’s new (and quick) bus rapid transit line". Overall, he gained a positive view of our BRT system.
Finally, the city has released ridership data showing that it has increased over numbers from late 2023.
