Crowded at a bus stop with 40 other people, a student eyes her competition. The others could potentially take a coveted seat on the warm, dry bus, highly valued on this cold, rainy November day. The bus pulls up and the door opens.
\I have a strategy,"" UW-Madison freshman Annie Walsworth said, citing the necessity of a preplanned approach to boarding. ""Most people line up [perpendicular] to the bus to get on. I attack from the side. My main strategy is to get low and barrel my way through.""
As temperatures decrease and the arrival of winter looms, free buses on Madison Metro routes 80, 81 and 82 are becoming increasingly crowded. Attempting to curb this trend, UW Transportation Services, which contracts Metro Transit to run the campus buses, increased buses on route 80 from six to seven beginning Monday, Nov. 3. According to Metro Transit Spokesperson Julie Maryott-Walsh, the time between buses also decreased to seven minutes, down from eight.
However, the effect of this is questionable, as observed by UW-Madison students. When any already full bus approaches a stop teeming with students, the discretion of the bus driver determines whether or not more students get on the bus.
""I discovered that there are two types of bus driver,"" UW-Madison freshman Betsy van den Elzen said. ""The first is the kind who will just drive past a bus stop and leave people behind. The second will sit there for like 10 minutes to pack them in. Every time the bus comes I hope it is the second type of driver.""
Driving the 8:37 a.m. route 80 bus from Memorial Union, Doug, who did not want to give his last name, said he believes it is his duty to get students on his bus and out of the cold by packing in as many students as possible.
""I cram the hell out of the people in here, then cram in six or eight more,"" he said. ""I'm up to my eyeballs trying to fit everyone in.""
Even when his bus is full of students ""packed like sardines,"" the crowd usually dissipates after two or three blocks, Doug said. Many students leave after reaching the top of Bascom Hill, or decide to leave the bus at an earlier stop and walk the rest of the way. UW-Madison's unique situation does not make it easy to have many buses running one route, according to Doug.
""We have not only an a.m. and p.m. rush hour, but also the rush between classes,"" he said. ""You can only add so many buses before the streets get too congested.""
The inconvenience of missing an overcrowded bus further reinforces students' belief that the only solution is the addition of more buses.
""You are totally screwed if the bus passes because it is too crowded,"" UW-Madison senior Heather Shelton said. ""I think if they added one more bus it would really help.""
""My roommate suggested that UW spring for hovercraft up Bascom,"" UW-Madison junior Nicole Sparacino said. ""I just think we need 80 more buses. Or escalators. Or a monorail.\
