Metro Transit, formerly Madison Metro, operates bus services throughout the city of Madison, Wisconsin, and several of its suburbs, including Middleton, Fitchburg, Maple Bluff, Monona, Shorewood Hills, Sun Prairie, and Verona. System-wide, fixed route ridership was over 12,300,000 in 2025.https://madison.com/news/local/government-politics/article_b38f66d9-7b77-4272-a504-222d5baec774.html Metro Transit serves the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus, the university's Eagle Heights apartments, and some off-campus residential areas via routes 80, 81, 82, and 84, which are free of charge to students, faculty, employees, and visitors. Metro Transit also provides supplemental transit services to Madison's high schools when they are in session.
History Bus service in Madison was originally owned by a private company. It was established in 1910 to serve parts of Madison that were not served by streetcars. In 1928, an ice storm heavily damaged the streetcar lines. The bus company replaced the streetcar lines with buses. After the company's revenues fell and the quality of service declined in the 1960s, the city agreed to purchase the Madison Bus Company, with the acquisition taking effect on May 1, 1970.Foley, Tom. "Bus Drivers Still Don't Know Who The Boss Is", Madison Capital Times, April 30, 1970, page 29.
Metro Transit's routes were dramatically overhauled on July 19, 1998. Previously, all routes had passed through Capitol Square, making downtown the only interchange point for cross-town travel. The 1998 changes redesigned the entire network around four newly created "transfer points" on the north, east, south, and west sides of the city. The number of routes nearly doubled, from 23 to 43. Additionally, while the old routes had been indicated with letters, the new routes were given numbers to illustrate that they had no connection to the previous network.Hall, Dee J., Phil Brinkman, and Valeria Davis-Humphrey. "Know where you're going?", Wisconsin State Journal, July 21, 1998, front page and page 4A. This transfer point system had been proposed as early as 1970, while the city was in the process of acquiring the bus company, by city council candidate Audrey Parkinson."10th Ward Candidate Urges Route Overhaul for Buses", Madison Capital Times, February 2, 1970, page 3.
In 2019, Metro Transit updated its logo and bus look. The same year, several middle schools switched to yellow buses.
Several routes were suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and did not return.
In 2023, the route network was overhauled to one with fewer routes and more frequent service. The newly redesigned network was launched on June 11, 2023. Most of the new routes are lettered rather than numbered. The north, east, and west transfer points were eliminated from the network. The south transfer point is still used and will eventually be replaced with standard streetside bus shelters and the transfer point will be redeveloped. The change has had a mixed reception; some have praised the redesign for more frequent service with fewer transfers, while others have criticized the redesign for eliminating service where the elderly, disabled, and low-income populations used to be able to ride the bus.
The same summer, the school routes received a handful of updates. Previously the school routes were lettered, but the routes are now numbered, each route has a triple-digit number. For the first time, supplemental school service was provided to Capital High, which had just moved into the former Hoyt School building. The remaining middle schools switched to yellow buses as part of recent route changes.
In December 2023 the Monona city council voted to join the Metro Transit network, Metro extended peak hour weekday service on Route 38 as well as opening stops along the existing G and L routes that previously did not serve the village. This replaced the Monona Express commuter service.
On September 22, 2024, Metro Transit launched its first bus rapid transit line, Rapid Route A, to replace a core east–west bus route. Various city and regional governments had studied bus rapid transit and other high-capacity systems, including light rail, to serve the Madison area as early as the 1980s, but did not begin formal planning of a bus rapid transit system until 2011.
Route network
The transit network focuses on point-to-point service, with some routes having different destinations but sharing the same core segments. Many routes serve downtown Madison and the University of Wisconsin–Madison where transit usage is high. The vast majority of services reflected in this section went into effect in June 2023. Significant changes included restructuring the main route network, discontinuing the previous transfer point system, and reintroducing lettered routes, replacing the previous numbering system. Although a small amount of weekday commuter routes remained numbered for administrative reasons. The University of Wisconsin circulator network was largely unaffected by the changes and retained its previous numbers/ routes. Bus rapid transit In the early 2020s, Metro Transit began design and construction of a bus rapid transit system that offers faster and more frequent service. The first line is Rapid Route A, an east–west line that replaced Route A on September 22, 2024. It cost $195 million to construct, with a majority of funds from a federal grant, and includes articulated battery-powered buses, center-running bus lanes and stations. The line also features buses that run every 5 to 15 minutes during weekday hours. A north–south line will replace Route B in 2028 pending federal funding.
Regular routes All routes in the table below run daily with varying service levels given the time/day. For example, route B runs every 15 minutes on weekdays, but every 30 minutes during evenings and Sundays. Route Terminals Major streets Notes Headway Branch Headway Monthly RidershipRapid AJunction Rd Park & Ride 1: Sun Prairie Park & RideEast Springs Dr, High Crossing BlvdBRT route194,163 2: American Center/Hanson Rd American Pkwy, Eastpark BlvdB Fitchburg/Cahill Main Northport DrFish Hatchery Rd, Park St, Packers AvePlanned North-South BRT route. Operates as BRT within Rapid A corridor. N/A 173,447CUW Hospital/Highland Ave 1: Sprecher & Cottage Grove Old University Ave, King St, Wilson St, Jenifer St, Winnebago St, Atwood AveInterlines with Route R evenings, weekends, and holidays at UW Hospital. 128,908 2: Buckeye RdD 1: Junction Rd Park & RideSprecher & Cottage GroveSchroeder Rd, Tokay Blvd, Odana Rd, Milwaukee St 124,0652: Epic – West End Cir/Verona High SchoolAirport/International LnFitchrona Rd, Williamsburg Way, Allied Dr, Nakoma Rd, Sherman AveWest terminus at West End Circle evenings, weekends, and holidaysEMcKee & Maple Grove Capitol SquareRaymond Rd, Whitney Way, Mineral Point Rd, Regent St, W. Washington Ave N/A 27,819FJunction Rd Park & Ride–MiddletonSheboygan Ave–Capitol SquareDeming Way, University Ave, Parmenter St, Century Ave, Allen Blvd, Sheboygan AveOperates as BRT within Rapid A corridor. East terminus at Segoe evenings, weekends, and holidays. N/A 37,979GSouth Transfer PointEast Towne Mall/Independence LnBadger Rd, South Towne Dr, E. Broadway, Monona Dr, Dempsey Rd, Thompson Rd, Eagan RdServes City of Monona. N/A 38,358HWest Towne Mall/Westfield RdSouth Transfer PointGammon Rd, McKenna Blvd, Raymond Rd, Todd Dr, Fish Hatchery Rd, Badger Rd N/A 28,981JWest Towne Mall/Westfield RdPark St/Brooks & JohnsonOdana Rd, Tokay Blvd, Speedway Rd, Highland Ave/UW Hospital N/A 19,375LFemrite & AgricultureSherman & DelawareOwl Creek Rd, Dutch Mill Rd, Agriculture Dr, Pflaum Rd, Atwood Ave, Sherman AveServes City of Monona; comes close to Village of McFarland border. N/A 6,247OSouth Transfer PointPark St/Brooks & Johnson-Park & Erin/St. Mary's HospitalBadger Rd, Fish Hatchery Rd, Randall Ave, Olin Ave, John Nolen Dr, Rimrock RdMost peak hour trips terminate at St. Mary's Hospital 15,016PIndependence & E Washington/East Towne Mall (loop)Independence & E Washington/East Towne Mall (loop)Hayes Rd, Portage Rd, Anniversary Ln N/A 3,939R1: Junction Rd Park & RideUW Hospital/Highland Ave–Capitol Square High Point Rd, Old Sauk Rd, Old Middleton RdEast terminus at UW Hospital evenings, weekends and holidays. Interlines with Route C evenings, weekends and holidays at UW Hospital.26,9272: South Ridge/Highway Q & Century Ave (Middleton)Century Ave, University Ave, Gammon Rd
Sun Prairie circulator service Metro Transit provides two local bus routes within the City of Sun Prairie. Both routes run on a looping circulator system that begins and ends at the Sun Prairie Park and Ride, where it is possible to transfer to Rapid A (BRT) into the city of Madison and connect with the rest of the Metro system. Route S runs seven days a week, including holidays, with 60 minute headways, and route W operates on weekdays only with 30 minute headways. Route W previously interlined with the mainline east-west Route A at the Park & Ride, allowing for a single seat ride from Sun Prairie to downtown Madison, campus and points west. This ended with the launch of the Rapid A service.
RouteTerminalMajor StreetsNotesMonthly RidershipSSun Prairie Park & Ride (counterclockwise loop)O'Keefe Ave, Main St, Bristol St, Tower Dr, Windsor St, Grand Ave, Reiner Rd2,161WSun Prairie Park & Ride (clockwise loop)O'Keefe Ave, Main St, Bristol St, Bird St, US 151 (no stops), Grand Ave, Reiner RdWeekdays only2,696
Weekday peak-only routes RouteTerminalsMajor StreetsNotesMonthly Ridership28University RowSherman AveObservatory Dr/UW Campus, Charter St, Fordem Ave47,76838University RowJenifer & Ingersoll or Monona/Dutch MillBabcock Dr/UW Campus, Bassett St, Broom St, Wilson St, Doty St, Williamson StMonona Service51,33855Junction Rd Park & RideEpic CampusHigh Point Rd, Mid Town Rd, Northern Lights Rd4,27165UW HospitalFitchburgJohn Nolen Dr, Rimrock Rd, Lacy Rd, E. Cheryl Pkwy6,71675Epic Campus/VeronaCapitol SquareVerona Ave, McKee Rd, Fish Hatchery Rd, Park St14,237
UW–Madison campus buses All UW campus routes are fare free. Operating costs are paid by various university departments and student organizations. When UW–Madison is not in session, service is reduced on routes 80 and 84, and routes 81 and 82 do not run.
RouteTerminalsMajor StreetsNotesMonthly Ridership80Memorial UnionEagle Heights/UW HospitalObservatory Dr, Highland Ave, University Bay Dr, Lake Mendota Dr, Randall Ave, Dayton St, Lake StRoute terminates at UW Hospital during peak hours.279,04481Memorial Union (loop)Memorial Union (loop)Langdon St, Wisconsin Ave, Gorham St, Lake St, Kohl Center, Broom St, Bassett StOvernight service evening - early AM4,35382Memorial Union (loop)Memorial Union (loop)Observatory Dr, University Ave, Breese Terrace/ Camp Randall, Regent St, Park St, Lake StOvernight service evening - early AM18,15684Linden & CharterEagle HeightsObservatory Dr, Highland Ave, University Bay Dr, Lake Mendota Dr, Linden StPeak hours only21,233
Supplemental school service This is additional peak-hour service run when the Madison Metropolitan School District is in session. These routes are open to the general public. 60x – East High School District 61x – La Follette High School District 62x – Memorial High School District 63x – West High School District 64x – Capital High School District
Fleet
Numerous between 909-999 & 100–160 Gillig Low Floor (40' ft) (Many are used mostly for school and peak-hour service.) 001–021 Gillig BRT Hybrid 1901–1915 New Flyer Xcelsior (40' ft) added in 2019. 2001–2003 Proterra, Inc. Electric Buses, joined fleet in the summer of 2020, began service late 2022. 2004–2015, 2201–2215 New Flyer Xcelsior (40' ft) added 2020-22. 2301-2362 New Flyer Xcelsior 60-foot battery electric buses; mainly used for BRT service.
Retired fleet 422-445 Saab-Scania CN112CLU 446-556 OBI Orion 557-719 Gillig Phantom 800–875 New Flyer D40LF