Coalition For Advancing Transit

Thank you Transit Supporters…updates and more «: "The economic vitality of Southeastern Wisconsin depends on having a strong regional transit system and dedicated local funding that will not only preserve and improve it, but will also contribute to the success of families, businesses and communities in Wisconsin. "

Scuttling High-Speed Rail Could Have Big Effect on Madison

Scuttling High-Speed Rail Could Have Big Effect on Madison: "'So, imagine this,' Cieslewicz wrote on his blog in May. 'You drive, ride your bike or take a bus to the new station. You grab some lunch at the public market or a nearby restaurant before you catch your train to Milwaukee. You spend an afternoon in Milwaukee doing business or visiting a museum or going to a Brewers game (if it's a ball game, the Brewers will win). You take the train back, enjoying the ride, maybe working on your laptop computer.'

Later in September, innovative local restaurateur Chris Berge announced he would be converting the high-end Norwegian Restaurant Magnus into a more affordable, bike-centric restaurant, a move he said then was sparked by the advent of the high-speed rail station.

But plans for downtown have changed dramatically since then."

Talgo pulls out of Milwaukee « Milwaukee Transit Riders Union

Talgo pulls out of Milwaukee « Milwaukee Transit Riders Union: "In a move that surprised no one, Talgo announced today that it will be pulling it’s operations out of Milwaukee and closing it’s plant at 27th and Townsend Streets, which was the former A. O. Smith/Tower Automotive complex.

This comes after Gov-Elect Scott Walker (R) was able to stop the Wisconsin segment of the Midwest High Speed Rail network from being constructed and got the $810 million sent to other states. For more info on the highspeed rail network, visit www.midwesthsr.org"

Milwaukee Transit Riders' Union

The Milwaukee Transit Riders Union is a group of over 400 bus riders and other citizens (and counting) dedicated to better public transportation in the Milwaukee area. Our members are of all ages and walks of life.

The fight for good public transportation is a fight for social and economic justice, for equality in mobility, and for the dignity for all Milwaukeeans. We believe that all Milwaukeeans deserve the dignity of having easy access to jobs and social opportunities throughout our area.

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Road builders' donations swung heavily to Walker - JSOnline

Road builders' donations swung heavily to Walker - JSOnline: "For Governor-elect Scott Walker, there are more than 128,000 reasons to favor using tax dollars on roads instead of rail.

Scores of road builders opened their wallets for the Republican candidate in the recent election."

Republicans fight Wisconsin high-speed rail

Superimposing ambitious rail projects on top of autosprawl is a recipe for failure. Without good urban public transit rail projects will fail. They make an easy target for anti-public-transit politicians.

Republicans fight Wisconsin high-speed rail: "But many Wisconsin Republicans this year are denouncing the new trains, using the project as a symbol to show how Democratic leaders in both state and federal government are spending money that neither can afford. “More than anything,” says Scott Walker, the Milwaukee County executive and Republican candidate for governor, “it symbolizes what people think of here when they think of runaway government spending.”"

More cuts for county transit - JSOnline

More cuts for county transit - JSOnline: "In the latest annual budget proposed by Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, bus fares aren't going up but service is again cut. And this is simply unacceptable.

I've ridden the bus in Milwaukee for almost 50 years. In that time, I've become an increasingly ardent advocate for the bus as an alternative to the automobile."

Disabled Veterans Ride Free on Green Bay Buses - WBAY-TV Green Bay-Fox Cities-Northeast Wisconsin News

Disabled Veterans Ride Free on Green Bay Buses - WBAY-TV Green Bay-Fox Cities-Northeast Wisconsin News: "Starting October 1st, disabled veterans can ride Green Bay buses for free.

Mayor Jim Schmitt announced the Green Bay Metro program. The transit commission approved it earlier this month."

fare-free would "create a tipping point toward more people using public transportation"

A way to realign these incentives and increase public transit use is to make all public transportation free to passengers, Erik Olin Wright, a professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, told Big Think. According to Wright, the benefits of free public transit are broader than are apparent with strict financial bookkeeping. The full value comes in a range of ancillary economic, health and ecological benefits, including:

"Reduced air pollution, including especially reduced greenhouse gases, which would help mitigate global warming."
"More efficient labor markets since it is easier for poor people to get to jobs. This is a benefit to employers for it makes it easier to hire people and it is a benefit to the people without cars who now find it easier to get jobs. But it is also a benefit to the society at large because it contributes to a long-term reduction in poverty."
"Health benefits: reduced asthma and other illnesses linked to automobile generated pollution."
"Less congestion on the highways for those who do need to drive."

big think

Wisconsin - Young people make free transit work

APPLETON — A pilot project that allowed Appleton middle and high school students to ride Valley Transit buses for free last semester was so successful, it will be back this fall.

The Board of Education's business services panel this week recommended its partnership with Valley Transit continue at least another school year after hearing Deborah Wetter, Valley Transit's general manager, describe the positive impact it has had on ridership....

...Wetter said she sees something of a "cultural change" around appeal of public transportation and some adults' perceptions bus riding is only for "those people. That's a stigma we've been fighting for years." She said based on responses Valley Transit is getting, many of them on its Facebook site, the students are "educating their parents who had negative impressions." Post Crescent