The future of the Associated Students of Madison bus pass program was the subject of discussions at the Downtown Coordinating Committee's first meeting of the year Thursday. Committee members also discussed new electronic parking meters and the possible introduction of longer, articulated buses.
The most pressing issue discussed at the meeting was the upcoming expiration of ASM's agreement with Metro Transit that provides UW-Madison students with unlimited-ride bus passes.
ASM and Metro Transit are currently negotiating the contract, which expires at the end of the 2009-'10 school year. It is not clear how last April's bus fare hike will affect the bus pass agreement.
Bill Knobeloch, Madison's parking operations manager, discussed the new computerized parking meters that will be installed throughout the city. Officials intend to replace 10 of the old parking meters with the new models by as soon as February.
The new machines will accept credit and debit cards. Ald. Mike Verveer, District 8, brought up the possibility of paying via text messaging.
Metro Transit General Manager Chuck Kamp said the city is considering the possibility of articulated buses, large buses with accordion bends in the center, being introduced into the transit system in the future.
The new buses would have nearly twice the capacity of the buses currently used by Metro Transit and would greatly increase the efficiency of the Madison bus system, he said.
Route 80 was an especially large concern for the committee, because an average of about 150 people board the route every hour, compared to most other bus routes that average about 50 people per hour.
