Madison, WI
I was born in Cambridge, England in 1971, but moved to the United States with my parents when I was a baby. I’ve lived in Louisiana and Texas and then finally settled down in Madison. I’m a peer support specialist for people dealing with mental health issues. During the school year, I’m a crossing guard for the school system here in Madison. I’m very active in the community. I volunteer a lot with the Sierra Club and serve as the co-treasurer. I also spend a lot of time with the Chrysalis Club House which helps community members that have mental health issues.
Up until 3 to 4 years ago, I didn’t own a car. Even though I now have my own vehicle, I try to take the bus as often as possible. I do get a free bus pass with my job as a crossing guard. The thing I like about the bus system is that I always get to meet people on the bus. It’s a great community to travel around with. People that don’t take the bus are missing out.
The bus system in Madison is upgrading to a bus rapid transit system. This is going to be great for our community. The bus will come every fifteen minutes. There are also more bus stops, so it will be able to serve a lot more of the population. The only thing that I’m a little worried about with the new improvements is that people will have to cross over into the median to catch the bus. Being a crossing guard, I know first-hand how cumbersome it can be to be able to cross the road safely. I just wish there were less cars around at the end of the day. Overall, though, the improvements they are making are excellent.
I also love taking long-distance trips on the train. I once took Amtrak’s Empire Builder from Columbus, Wisconsin to East Glacier, Montana. Taking the train is an amazing way to see the country. Just recently, I had a friend hop on Amtrak’s California Zephyr to travel cross country. Taking the train is relaxing, and I feel it’s a much safer way to explore the country versus battling large semi-trucks on the highways.
Having a good public transit system really helps people get from place to place easily. It can mean the difference between having a job or not because of transportation issues. It allows people to travel to different destinations that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to travel very well.
The one thing I would love to see in the Madison area is light, commuter rail. They did a study that it wasn’t viable because there aren’t enough people in our area that it could serve. I don’t fully believe that because there are more people that would take and benefit from public transit than we realize, like seniors who can’t drive anymore and families who struggle affording a car. Anyways, even without a light rail system, I’m glad that Madison is developing a bus rapid transit system.
It would be great if the federal government could provide more funding for our transit system overall. It would be excellent if we could continue to expand our bus system so that it could reach everyone. I’d also like to see Madison add more bike lanes. If I was talking to my Congressperson today, I would ask for just that…more funding. I would tell them that it’s vital for people to be able to get from place to place safely. The best way to do so is to invest in our public transit system.