Driving the Budget: the Politics of Bus Transportation in Madison Wisconsin

Abstract

Public transportation, beneficial to citizens directly and indirectly, is dictated by the political sphere, localized budgets, and urban demographics. This study seeks to isolate the characteristics of who is riding the bus in the city of Madison, Wisconsin and how they will be affected by the contemporary fiscal climate as it acts upon transit policy. Methods of participant observation, surveys, photography and an interview assess ridership and attitudes on proposed bus fare increases. Riders of routes 80 and 6 do not parallel the demography of the metropolitan and campus communities, but do illustrate the geographic pattern of households. Demand for public transportation will not be adversely affected by fare increases.