It's a bit head-scratching to try and review a bus service, but Metro Transit has been both pleasantly surprising and downright strange. Having taken public buses in other metropolises where drivers pass right by you or could care less about driving in the same lane as oncoming traffic, Madison Metro drivers are polite in comparison, though there are those fascinating individuals such as the driver who will not pull over to the curb to pick me up, instead stopping in the middle of the street, or the driver who yells at pedestrians and other drivers with little regard or awareness to the passengers who are listening to them. Buses are on time for the most part, though the scheduling can be a bit exasperating (e.g. having the 4 and 6 eastbound buses travel within 5 minutes of each other). Other annoyances include when there is a delay due to a driver change or when a driver stops the bus and goes to get a coffee for 10 minutes. The automated announcement system can be helpful, if you like having your stop announced *after* the bus has passed it, but hey, it's public transport. read more

Went to take the G bus, westbound, Sunday at around 5:39 pm or so. I had never used the Madison bus system before, which I told the bus driver, and was struggling to get the app to work. The driver, some middle-age white man with glasses and beard, was an absolute jerk about the whole thing - telling me "I should have had the app figured out" even though I had *just* told him I hadn't used the Madison bus system before. He even watched me add 2 dollars to the app (so I was clearly going to pay) - then told me it was the wrong one (which I found out later it wasn't) and still wouldn't let me on. I've ridden countless busses in different states and even other countries and haven't had this kind of issue before. I would have understood a simple "sorry, I can't let you on without fare" but this guy was a total *sshole about it. Definitely beware if you need to hop on the G. read more

Got to my bus stop at Baldwin St at 5:59am for my 6:04am bus (A1 bus Eastbound). The display screen said my bus was 4 mins away. Cool, right on time. I looked at the display again and my bus wasn't on the schedule anymore. Looked online and it was canceled. How can you cancel a bus when it's -15° and there's 4 people relying on it. The next bus showed up 40 mins later. It's RIGHT NEXT TO THE BUS DEPOT!!! Never cancel a bus in dangerous conditions, send a substitute bus. Unacceptable. What are our taxes paying for? read more

The new changes have made the bus system more dysfunctional than it already was. it was already bad because buses were rarely on schedule, would not sync to maps so you wouldn't know until too late it was skipping or past your stop now with the new letter route system it's even more confusing and inconsistent. maps will tell me to take a certain letter and route and there will be four other letters with the same route and the letter I'm supposed to take will pass by with multiple different routes. it was much easier with one number to each route. as someone with visual impairments who relies on the bud system it makes it difficult try to read the new letters and routes. read more

Your new routes are very inconvenient. Why do I have to wait 30 minutes for a new bus at a random stop. Whyyyy did you get rid of transfer points. I'd rather ride one bus then have to be stuck half an hour somewhere to catch another bus. read more

Have you read the daily updates regarding the bedbug infestation on Metro buses? Well, it's NOT the passengers who are causing this situation. Bed bugs do not jump or hop. They move by crawling using their six legs, but they are not capable of jumping like fleas....therefore how do they get onto the drivers when the passengers are not even close to them and how do they get into the bus station breakrooms and other areas??? Metro has hired over 100 new drivers since the system was destroyed by Satya's orders to tear down vital bus shelters and stops to fulfill her greedy plan to curse our once tranquil and beautiful city with the unneeded BRT. The majority of these new hires are completely untrained, rude, insolent, slovenly, and slothful. They will look the other way and skid past potential passengers leaving those of us who actually WORK for a living to wait for another bus, snap at passengers, curse at them, gorge on sandwiches and thermos' full of well...not sure of what's in 'em and give totally lousy customer service and not care one bit. As someone who has ridden buses here since the 1980's I speak from experience and sadly from recent observations. I said all of that to say this THE BEDBUGS ARE NOT FROM THE PASSENGERS BUT FROM THE DRIVERS AND THEY ARE ALSO A FORM OF PESTILENCE SENT BY GOD AS PUNISHMENT to this city for allowing it to deteriorate into a hellhole comparable to the Biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. And don't even bother to call Metro to complain because the scripted liars who answer will deflect and blame you for whatever has transpired, promise to have a supervisor return your call which will never happen and suggest that you find some other form of transportation if you don't like the service. It is heartbreaking! read more

I was unfortunate to end up with the same driver after I moved to the east of Madison, on the G route. He likes to flirt with female passengers, chat with a regular male passenger, and constantly made me late for work. I work at a hospital and can't be late since we get written up for being late and due to staff shortages at hospitals. Sometimes he intentionally drives past me and told me on several occasions that he did not want me on his bus, I guess he would want me on his bus if I allowed him to be flirtatious and not speak out about his unprofessional behavior. There were times when he drove slow on purpose knowing that I had to get another bus. I am not late whenever another driver drives and I am filled with disappointment when I see his face because then I knew that I would be late. Last night he threatened me with the police if I do not get off his bus and he refused to drive after I complained of a male passenger who was vaping and who threatened to beat me up because I complained of him vaping ( the fumes of vaping can trigger an asthma attack). I got off the bus because as a person of color and as a woman, it is tiring to be threatened by a white person with the police and portrayed as the aggressor. The driver also went outside to smoke and accused me of making everyone late. I was stranded at a bus stop in the dark in an area that I was not familiar with. I called a taxi and I had to explain to 'Debbie" from the taxi services where to pick me up because I was afraid of standing alone at 2230 at a bus stop. Debbie was very compassionate and understanding and told me she would do her best to get a taxi to me as soon as possible. I was fortunate that I did not become part of a statistic because of one driver's ego. The same driver has called me derogative names in the past and as an educated woman and a person of color I am not going to be silenced by a man that perceive himself as being "superior" because he is white and a male. I sometimes try to avoid him by taking an earlier bus but then I miss out on my sleep. Most drivers are great at their jobs, and unfortunately there is the occasional male ego ... that thinks a woman has to smile and act in a certain way... read more

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Removing the transfer points made this system much more dangerous or impossible to access for senior and/or differently-abled riders. But Metro doesn't care and dismisses concerns that are voiced consistently from riders. read more

There is one employee at Metro's information center who deserves gets FIVE GOLD STARS for her knowledgable service and pleasant attitude and her name is JACKIE! i have had the pleasure of being given clear, concise directions from her on several occasions and she deserves praise! GOD BLESS HER! She gets five stars but I have to give three stars here because the rest of the staff is HORRIBLE! The others employees who somehow got jobs at Metro answering phone inquiries clearly do not like their jobs and grudgingly spew out incorrect directions as to which bus to catch and get disgustingly salty when a caller needs further information because of the confusing directions spewed at them or wishes to file a complaint of any sort after getting fed up with the lousy service being given to them. The most exceptionally RUDE AND IGNORANT phone worker is named TIFFANY who is perched at top of the ROTTEN SERVICE LIST for using poor grammar and having an argumentative, insulting, condescending attitude toward Metro customers which I unfortunately, have experienced several times when in dire need of help and do not have the luxury of owning a car to get to my various destinations. She brags about working ther longer than most other employees and she'd better hang on to that job because NO ONE ELSE WOULD EVER HIRE HER with her foul attitude! I write this review having over 40 years of customer service myself so I know good from bad! read more

This year's route redesign has RUINED the bus system. Many routes that were practical & relatively stream lined are now convoluted, meandering and miserably slow. Essential shopping stops such as popular box store & shopping malls have been taken off the bus line entirely, now requiring extensive urban hiking - often without sidewalks. This makes access gruling and misserable for many, impossible in winter or for those with mobility issues. As many have mentioned, the lack of centralized transfer points is also a problem. Now you are dropped off on some sidewalk to wait half an hour without shelter or a bench. Try that in January, folks responsible for this. God willing, those responsible for this should be fired and blacklisted from working in civil engineering ever again. read more

Let us consider the number 138 2 bus which left State and Fairchild Streets yesterday at approximately 2:30 PM headed to the north transfer point. On this bus I was berated by the driver for not moving fast enough to a seat when I boarded. "Hurry up. We don't have a lot of time," he admonished me. Or words to the effect . "Don't rush me, I replied. I exited this bus immediately and found a more pleasant, uncrowded bus. I am 74 years old with arthritic knees, which makes me not ready to join a track team. I don't know who this driver is. But I know what he is: a bully. read more

Let's see what's the word I'm looking for to sum up Madison Metro. Oh wait, I know! It's "Unreliable"! If your trip requires you to transfer at one of the transfer points you are in for a long travel time. If the first bus is late, and it is three out of five times for my daily trip, then you will miss your transfer then have to wait a half hour for the next. If you email or call to complain you get a polite apology but METRO DOES NOTHING TO CORRECT THE ROUTES SO THEY HAVE A CHANCE OF ARRIVING ON TIME! Do you work nights? Well you can forget about using the bus system! The bus system starts shutting down at 11pm on weekdays and even earlier on weekends. For a city the size of Madison and the $2 ticket price we should be getting far better service. read more

The bus system can be very unreliable. Although it does save you money on gas, it does not save you time. Improvements can be made to the system in order to make it better for the riders. read more